The Department of State Services (DSS) has reportedly arrested Faisal, son of former Pension Reform Task Team chairman Abdulrasheed Maina, following his alleged secret return to Nigeria after years on the run.
Sources told TheCable that Faisal was apprehended by DSS operatives in the Karsana area of Abuja and subsequently handed over to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
According to one of the sources, the arrest followed credible intelligence indicating that Faisal had quietly returned to the country.
Faisal had been on the run since 2020 after he was granted bail in a money laundering case filed against him by the EFCC. He was accused of violating his bail conditions and fleeing the country.
Despite his absence, proceedings continued, culminating in his conviction by the Federal High Court in Abuja in October 2021. He was sentenced to 14 years’ imprisonment for money laundering.
The trial judge, Okong Abang, held that the EFCC had established that Faisal operated a fictitious account with United Bank for Africa (UBA), through which N58.1 million allegedly linked to his father was laundered.
Court proceedings showed that the funds were deposited into an account operated under the name “Alhaji Faisal Farm 2” and subsequently withdrawn by Faisal and his father between October 2013 and June 2019.
In November 2022, the Court of Appeal upheld Faisal’s conviction but reduced his prison sentence from 14 years to seven years. The appellate court ruled that the maximum sentence should not have been imposed on a first-time offender.
Faisal’s reported arrest comes against the backdrop of his father’s own legal troubles. Abdulrasheed Maina served an eight-year prison sentence at the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja following his conviction in connection with the laundering of N2 billion in pension funds.
Maina was released earlier in 2026 but has reportedly been declared wanted in a separate case involving allegations of receiving stolen property.
Faisal’s arrest is expected to renew attention on the enforcement of his conviction and the next legal steps in the case. Further details concerning his transfer to the EFCC and the implementation of the appellate court’s judgment have not been provided in the available report.
