Justice Abubakar Kutigi of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Asokoro, Abuja, on Thursday expressed anger over the continued absence of former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, stalling proceedings in his ongoing trial.
Maina’s absence on February 26, 2026, halted a scheduled trial-within-trial meant to determine the admissibility of his extra-judicial statements to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The EFCC is prosecuting Maina alongside Ann Igwe Olachi, a civil servant, on a nine-count charge bordering on alleged receipt of stolen funds amounting to N738,612,019.99.
The defendants were arraigned in 2019.
At Thursday’s proceedings, Maina’s new lead counsel, A.I. Lemu, SAN, told the court he had just taken over the case and was not familiar with its details.
“I am coming into this matter new. I don’t even have the charges. I don’t have the history of this case.
“I was briefed on the phone to take over the case,” he said, seeking a two-week adjournment to study the case.
Lemu acknowledged the frequent change of lawyers representing the first defendant and assured the court he would see the matter through.
“Hopefully, I will be the last lawyer to appear in this case,” he added.
A visibly displeased Justice Kutigi warned that he would revoke Maina’s bail if he continued to absent himself from court, describing the situation as an attempt to make a mockery of the judicial process.
“If your client cannot come to court, I will revoke his bail and let them go and get him. I would not allow a senior advocate to come and make a mockery of this court.
“The last time he appeared in court was more than three years ago. I am fed up with this case,” the judge said.
He, however, granted the defence two weeks in the interest of fair hearing, warning that failure of the defendant to appear at the next adjourned date would lead to revocation of his bail.
The judge also recalled that Maina was released from prison on February 25, 2025, after serving a two-year sentence for money laundering, but had yet to resume attendance in court for the present trial.
During the proceedings, the prosecution made two applications: one seeking to strike out the defence’s objection to the voluntariness of the defendant’s statements due to his absence, and another requesting that the defendant bear the cost incurred in transporting equipment to court for the playback of the video-recorded statements.
In response, defence counsel challenged the jurisdiction of the court to entertain the matter, arguing that Maina had already been convicted and served his sentence.
The prosecution indicated it would file a formal response at the next hearing.
Justice Kutigi adjourned the case to March 9, 2026, for continuation of the trial-within-trial and hearing on the jurisdictional challenge.
