The State Security Service (SSS) has arrested Faisal Abdulrasheed Maina, son of the former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, nearly six years after he fled trial over money laundering charges involving ₦58.1 million in pension-related funds.
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Faisal, who was convicted in absentia by the Federal High Court in Abuja in October 2021 and subsequently had his prison sentence reduced by the Court of Appeal, was apprehended by security operatives in the Karsana area of the Federal Capital Territory following intelligence indicating that he had secretly returned to Nigeria.
The arrest, reported on Friday, October 16, 2026, was followed by his handover to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the anti-graft agency responsible for his prosecution.
Security sources familiar with the operation disclosed that SSS operatives had been monitoring intelligence concerning Faisal’s movements before locating him in Abuja.
“His arrest followed credible intelligence which indicated that Faisal had secretly returned to the country,” a security source said.
The source explained that the intelligence prompted an operation in Karsana, where Faisal was tracked and taken into custody before being transferred to the EFCC.
His arrest brings a new development to a criminal case that attracted public attention because of the involvement of his father, Abdulrasheed Maina, whose prosecution arose from allegations of extensive fraud involving public pension funds.
Faisal was originally arraigned by the EFCC before Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court in Abuja on a three-count charge bordering on money laundering.
The prosecution alleged that he operated a fictitious bank account with United Bank for Africa through which his father laundered approximately ₦58.1 million.
According to the EFCC, the money was deposited into an account operated under the name “Alhaji Faisal Farm 2” and subsequently withdrawn by Faisal and his father between October 2013 and June 2019.
During the trial, the prosecution presented evidence linking Faisal to the operation of the account and the movement of the funds.
However, Faisal stopped attending court proceedings in June 2020 after being granted bail, prompting the court to order his arrest.
The proceedings continued in his absence, and on October 7, 2021, Justice Abang found him guilty of the three money laundering charges brought against him by the EFCC.
The trial judge held that the prosecution had established the essential ingredients of the offences and that Faisal reasonably ought to have known that the funds passing through the account represented proceeds of unlawful activities.
The court sentenced him to five years’ imprisonment on the first count, 14 years on the second count and five years on the third count.
Justice Abang ordered that the sentences should run concurrently, resulting in an effective prison term of 14 years.
The court also directed that Faisal should be arrested wherever he was found within Nigeria and committed to a correctional facility to serve his sentence.
It further ordered the Federal Government to commence lawful extradition proceedings if he was found outside Nigeria.
The court directed that the company used in the transactions, Alhaji Faisal Farm 2, should be wound up and its funds forfeited to the Federal Government.
Dissatisfied with the judgment, Faisal challenged his conviction and sentence before the Court of Appeal.
In November 2022, the appellate court upheld his conviction but reduced the custodial sentence from 14 years to seven years.
The Court of Appeal held that the trial court should not have imposed the maximum punishment on a first-time offender in the circumstances of the case.
The appellate decision therefore preserved the finding of guilt while modifying the punishment imposed by the Federal High Court.
With Faisal now back in the custody of law enforcement authorities, attention is expected to turn to the enforcement of the subsisting judgment and the administrative steps necessary to give effect to the seven-year sentence.
His arrest is particularly noteworthy because the original trial court had expressly directed security agencies to apprehend him wherever he was found.
The development also comes against the background of renewed scrutiny surrounding his father, Abdulrasheed Maina, who was separately convicted over the laundering of approximately ₦2 billion in pension funds.
In November 2021, the Federal High Court in Abuja convicted the former pension reform task force chairman on multiple money laundering charges and sentenced him to an effective eight years’ imprisonment.
The Court of Appeal subsequently upheld his conviction and sentence in May 2023.
Maina was released from the Kuje Correctional Centre in January 2026, a development that generated questions about the calculation and completion of his custodial sentence.
His release later attracted further public attention following his appearance at an event organised by the Nigerian Bar Association, Garki Branch, where he was named Grand Patron and received a Rule of Law and Courage Award.
The development drew criticism from the national leadership of the NBA, which disclaimed the appointment and directed the branch leadership to withdraw the recognition.
In September 2026, the EFCC again declared Abdulrasheed Maina wanted, this time in connection with a separate allegation of receiving stolen properties.
The commission issued a public notice requesting information concerning his whereabouts, although the latest allegation remains distinct from the money laundering case for which he was previously convicted.
The arrest of Faisal therefore places both father and son back in the spotlight over separate developments arising from their encounters with anti-corruption authorities.
While Faisal’s conviction has already been affirmed by the Court of Appeal, his apprehension raises the practical question of when and how the outstanding custodial sentence will be enforced.
As of the time of this report, there was no publicly confirmed information establishing that Faisal had been admitted to a correctional facility following his handover to the EFCC.
The anti-graft agency is expected to take the necessary steps in accordance with the subsisting court judgment and applicable legal procedures.
The development marks the end of Faisal’s reported years of evading arrest and renews attention on the enforcement of criminal judgments against convicted persons who abscond during judicial proceedings.
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