A former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, on Thursday, again failed to appear in court, stalling proceedings in his ongoing trial before the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Asokoro.
Maina’s absence aborted the scheduled trial-within-trial before Justice Abubakar Kutigi, which was set to determine the admissibility of his extra-judicial statements to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The EFCC is prosecuting Maina alongside Ann Igwe Olachi, a civil servant, on a nine-count charge bordering on the alleged receipt of stolen funds amounting to N738,612,019.99.
The defendants were arraigned in 2019.
Proceedings were disrupted at the outset when Maina’s new lead counsel, A.I. Lemu, SAN, informed the court that he had just taken over the matter and was unfamiliar with the case details.
“I am coming into this matter new. I don’t even have the charges. I don’t have the history of this case. I was briefed on the phone to take over the case,” Lemu told the court, requesting a two-week adjournment to study the case file.
While acknowledging the frequent change of lawyers representing the first defendant, Lemu assured the court of his commitment.
“Hopefully, I will be the last lawyer to appear in this case,” he said.
A visibly displeased Justice Kutigi warned that the court would no longer tolerate delays, threatening to revoke Maina’s bail if he fails to appear at the next sitting.
“If your client cannot come to court, I will revoke his bail and let them go and get him,” the judge warned.
“I would not allow a senior advocate to come and make a mockery of this court. The last time he appeared in court was more than three years ago. I am fed up with this case. I’ve been in this profession for over 35 years. I have never seen a case like this.”
Despite his frustration, the judge granted the defence’s request for adjournment in the interest of fair hearing, giving counsel two weeks to prepare.
Justice Kutigi recalled that Maina was released from prison on February 25, 2025, after serving a two-year conviction for money laundering, but has since failed to make himself available for the continuation of his trial.
During the proceedings, prosecution counsel applied for the court to strike out the defence’s objection to the voluntariness of the defendants’ statements, citing the failure to produce Maina for the sub-trial.
The prosecution also requested that Maina be ordered to bear the cost incurred in transporting equipment needed to replay video recordings of the extra-judicial statements.
In response, the defence challenged the court’s jurisdiction, arguing that Maina had already been convicted and served his sentence.
The prosecution promised to file a formal response at the next hearing.
The matter was adjourned to March 9, 2026, for the commencement of the trial-within-trial and hearing on the issue of jurisdiction.