Justice Okon Abang of a Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, on Thursday, declined an application for bail by ex-chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Force, Abdulrasheed Maina.
Delivering ruling on his request in the ongoing trial over alleged money laundering amounting to N2billon, Justice Abang described Maina as a flight risk undeserving of a grant of bail.
He said though it was at the court discretion to grant bail, the ex-pension reformed boss did not deserve a bail after jumping the first bail. “He has disappointed the court,” he ruled, declaring the application as lacking merit.
The judge said that Maina did not place sufficient materials before the court to convince the court that he deserves the second bail, just as he held that the medical report brought from the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital showed that Maina was not under any medical emergency.
Justice Abang said Maina was not only a flight risk but a proving risk, having fled to the Republic of Niger and Chad in violation of the court order.
While refusing to grant Maina’s application for an order directing the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to release his confiscated property, including a BMW Car, he also dismissed his request for an order to set aside the November 18 and December 4, 2020, orders.
Recall that on November 18, 2020, the court had ordered the trial of Maina in absentia after he jumped bail. Also on December 4, last year, the court ordered Maina to be remanded in prison custody pending the hearing and final determination of his matter.
However, Maina, who jumped bail and fled to the Republic of Niger before his re-arrest, had on December 24, 2020, applied for another bail. He had through his lawyer, Anayo Adibe, approached Justice Abang in a motion for notice on January 20, contending that the application became necessary over his worsening health condition.
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