The former Chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina has been arraigned by The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on another charge of contract racketeering and stealing a sum of N738.6m.
Maina was arraigned before Justice Abubakar Kutigi of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Gwagwalada, Abuja.
Maina was arraigned on Wednesday on nine counts bordering on alleged N738.6m contarct scam. His secretary, Ann Olachi was also arraigned.
Maina was believed to have abused his position as PRTT chairman to give fake contracts for pretentious biometric enrolment of pensioners.
According to the Law of the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria 2007, under section 317 of the Penal Code Act, Cap532, Vol. 4, this kind of offence is against the law and should be dealt with accordingly.
According to a statement by spokesman for the EFCC, Wilson Uwujaren, Maina and his accomplices also made claims for fake allowances during the course of the fake biometric enrolment assignment, while the money from the fake contracts were believed to have been transferred to Maina’s account by his secretary.
Read also: Hilarious Reactions As Maina Shows Up to Court In A Wheelchair
The prosecuting counsel M. Abubakar told the court that Maina was meant to be on trial for the charges brought forward against him, therefore he urged the court to read out the charges to the defendants to enable them take their pleas. Maina and Olachi pleaded not guilty.
One of the counts read, “That you Abdulrasheed Maina and Ann Olachi between December 2010 and January 2011 in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court dishonestly received an aggregate sum of N136.2m from one Ibrahim Abdulkarim knowing that the said money was stolen from the Federal Government of Nigeria under the guise of payment of allowances.”
The case was hereby adjourned till November 28, 2019.
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