A Federal High Court in Abuja on Tuesday ordered the temporary forfeiture of 23 properties linked to a former Chairman of Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT), Abdulrasheed Maina.
Justice Folashade Ogunbanjo ordered the forfeiture while ruling on a motion filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
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In the suit, the anti-graft agency urged the court to order
the temporary forfeiture of the properties.
It also sought the court order to publish an advert of the
properties in a national daily, to enable anyone with a reason why the
properties should not be finally forfeited to the Federal Government to state
their case.
The EFCC supported its motion with a 30-paragraph affidavit
which was brought pursuant to Section 17 of the Money Laundering Act.
Delivering her ruling on the motion, Justice Ogunbanjo
granted the prayers of the anti-graft agency.
She also ordered the EFCC to return to the court on November
19, for the continuation of the case.
Nigeria’s Department of State Services (DSS) on Wednesday,
October 2 confirmed Maina’s arrest.
Maina was arrested in the company of his 20-year-old son at
the Pennsylvania Avenue Hotel, Utako, Abuja after a request by the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission to the Service to assist in the apprehension of the
suspect.
DSS in a statement said Maina’s son Faisal tried to resist
the arrest and pointed a pistol gun at the security operatives.
Maina was charged alongside a former head of service Steve
Oronsaye, Osarenkhoe Afe, Fredrick Hamilton and Global Services Ltd before a
Federal High Court on a 24-count bordering on procurement fraud and obtaining
by false pretence in July 2015 but he absconded from the country shortly after.
He was dismissed from service in 2013 after the office of
the Head of Service had made some recommendations against him.
Maina was later declared wanted by the EFCC for the past
four years for N2.1 billion pension fraud.