By Omeiza Ajayi
ABUJA: Former chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team PRTT, Abdulrasheed Maina, has resurfaced after maintaining a very low profile following his quiet release from custody nearly a year ago, having completed his jail term at the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja.
While Maina has maintained a strictly low profile since his release on February 25, 2025, he has recently surged back into the headlines.
A viral video features the former pension boss accusing the embattled former Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, of orchestrating his legal “ordeal.”
Adamu Duza, the spokesperson for the Federal Capital Territory FCT Command of the Nigeria Correctional Service NCoS, confirmed the release to Vanguard on Thursday night.
“Yes, Maina was released on 25th February, 2025 upon completion of his sentence. You will recall that Maina was sentenced to 8 years imprisonment and the sentence was to count from the date of his arraignment. So, that sentence was completed on the 25th of February, 2025 and he was released officially,” Duza stated.
Maina’s conviction in November 2021 followed a high-profile trial involving money laundering charges totaling over N2 billion. He was originally arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission EFCC in October 2019, where he pleaded not guilty to a 12-count charge.
In his scathing judgment, trial judge Okon Abang highlighted the human cost of Maina’s actions.
He held that Maina had stolen funds belonging to pensioners: “Most of whom have died without reaping the fruits of their labour.”
The court ordered the eight-year sentence to run concurrently, effective from his initial arraignment date of October 25, 2019.
Seeking to overturn the ruling, Maina approached the Court of Appeal. However, in May 2023, the appellate court dealt a final blow to his legal defence by upholding the conviction and the original eight-year sentence.
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