“Months After Release From Prison, Abdulrasheed Maina Is Wanted Again” — EFCC Cites Alleged Receiving Of Stolen Properties

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Abdullahi Maina, wanted over an alleged case of receiving stolen properties.

In a wanted notice issued by the anti-graft agency, the Commission asked members of the public with useful information about Maina’s whereabouts to contact any of its offices across the country, the nearest police station or other security agencies.

According to the notice, Maina, 61, is an indigene of Biu in Borno State.

“The public is hereby notified that Abdulrasheed Abdullahi Maina, whose photograph appears above, is wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in an alleged case of Receiving Stolen Properties,” the notice stated.

The Commission listed its offices in Ibadan, Uyo, Sokoto, Maiduguri, Benin, Makurdi, Kaduna, Ilorin, Enugu, Kano, Lagos, Gombe, Port Harcourt and Abuja as points where information concerning his whereabouts could be provided.

It also asked anyone with useful information to contact the Commission through 08093322644 or [email protected], or report to the nearest police station or other security agency.

The notice was issued under the name of the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale.

The Commission did not provide further details in the notice about the property Maina is alleged to have received, its value, the alleged owner, the period of the alleged transaction or whether the latest matter is connected to any of his previous cases.

The development comes months after reports that Maina had regained his freedom following the completion of an eight-year prison sentence arising from an earlier money-laundering prosecution by the EFCC. The latest allegation of receiving stolen properties should therefore be treated as a separate allegation unless the Commission subsequently states otherwise.

Maina was convicted on November 8, 2021 by Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court in Abuja on a 12-count charge involving money laundering and related offences. The sentences imposed on the various counts amounted to 61 years but were ordered to run concurrently, resulting in an effective eight-year term calculated from October 25, 2019, when he was arraigned.

The trial court also made forfeiture and restitution orders relating to funds and assets connected with the case.

Maina challenged the conviction, but in May 2023, the Court of Appeal in Abuja upheld both his conviction and the eight-year sentence. A three-member panel held that he had not been denied a fair hearing and affirmed the trial court’s findings.

In January 2026, reports indicated that Maina had been released from Kuje Correctional Centre after completing the sentence, which had been reckoned from the date of his arraignment in October 2019.

The fresh EFCC wanted notice now puts Maina back in the focus of the anti-graft agency, this time over the separate allegation of receiving stolen properties.

However, the declaration that he is wanted does not amount to a finding of guilt in respect of the latest allegation. The EFCC notice describes the matter as an alleged case, and no details of any charge or court proceeding relating to the new allegation were contained in the notice.

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