Erstwhile Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Taskforce Team, (PRTT), Abulrasheed Maina, on Thursday, lost his bid to secure fresh bail from the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The court, in a ruling by trial Justice Okon Abang, held that Maina, whose initial bail was revoked after he fled to the Niger Republic midway into his trial on a 12-count money laundering charge, is a “proven flight risk”.
Justice Abang dismissed Maina’s fresh bail application as lacking in merit, stressing that though it was at the discretion of the court to grant bail, Defendant had by his conduct, proved that he does not deserve the exercise of such judicial discretion in his favour.
The trial Judge held that the Defendant failed to place sufficient materials to justify why he should be released from detention after he jumped the bail that was previously granted to him.
Besides, he noted that a medical report Maina brought from the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital, indicated that he was not under any medical emergency or suffering a life-threatening ailment.
“Having considered the facts placed before me, I hold that the first Defendant cannot be trusted with another bail.
“He is not only a potential flight risk but a proven flight risk.
“A Defendant who fled the country to Chad and Niger, while his travel documents were deposited in court, cannot be trusted with another bail”, Justice Abang held.
The court equally refused an application Maina filed to retrieve some of his property, including a BMW car, which he said were confiscated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC), even as it declined to vacate the order made on November 18, 2020, which okayed trial of the Defendant in absentia.
Maina, who is facing a 12-count money laundering charge alongside his firm- Common Input Property and Investment Limited- had in his fresh application, prayed the court to grant him bail on health ground.
He told the court that his health condition worsened at the Kuje Correctional Center where he was remanded upon his extradition to the country by Interpol on December 3, 2020.
In the application he filed through his team of lawyers led by Sani Katu SAN, the former pension reform boss told the court that he is suffering unbearable pain due to a knee surgery we underwent while he was in the Niger Republic.
He told the court that complication from the surgery could lead to the amputation of his leg if his request for bail to allow him to seek better medical attention, is refused.
The EFCC had opposed Maina’s bail application, insisting that he would escape abroad if released from detention.
EFCC earlier closed its case against the Defendants after it called a total of nine witnesses that testified in the matter, even as the court ordered the Defendants to open their defence to the charge.
In the charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/256/2019, EFCC, alleged that Maina used a bank account that was operated by his firm and laundered funds to the tune of about a N2billion, part of which he used to acquire landed properties in Abuja.
It told the court that the 1st Defendant (Maina) used fictitious names to open and operate various bank accounts, as well as recruited his relatives that were bankers to operate fake bank accounts through which illicit funds were channelled.
The Prosecution maintained that the Defendants committed criminal offences punishable under sections 11(2) (a), 15(3), and 16(2) (c) of the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, and also acted in breach of the Advance Fee Fraud Act.
The Defendants who were arraigned on October 25, 2019, pleaded not guilty to the charge.
Comments are closed.