Prof. Itse Sagay (SAN), Chairman, Presidential Advisory Committee Against Corruption has said that the Federal Government should arrest Abdulrasheed Maina, ex-chairman of the defunct Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms.
Maina fled Nigeria in 2015 following an indictment of a N2 Billion pensions biometric fraud but has recently returned to the country and has allegedly been posted to the Ministry of Interior with a double promotion based on the recommendation of the Head of Service.
According to Prof. Sagay, re-absorbing Maina back into the system at this point was wrong.
He said, “This man was accused of embezzling billions of naira meant for pensioners who had spent all their lives serving this country. One man took the money they should rely on in their declining years, subjecting them to misery and hopelessness.
“This is a moral and criminal issue. So, to hear that the man is in the country and somebody employed him means he is not the only criminal in the system. It means there is an accessory.
“Whoever was involved in employing him and then giving him promotion is an accessory after the fact to the crimes committed by this man if it is established that he is culpable. I don’t see why he escaped if he was not guilty.”
In addition, Prof. Sagay said the EFCC should immediately arrest Maina and interrogate him.
He said, “The EFCC should not just say they are aware; they should take action. The EFCC should now arrest him, interrogate him and if they can establish a case, prosecute him. They should also investigate all those involved in the reabsorbing and promotion of this man.
“If it established that they brought him back into the civil service despite knowledge of the man’s alleged crimes, they are also accessories after the fact and should also be arrested and prosecuted.”
