The embattled Maina was extradited on Thursday to Nigeria to face his ongoing money laundering trial.

Maina was arrested in Niamey, the capital of Niger Republic after he jumped bail and was declared wanted by an Abuja High Court.

He was received on Thursday by men of the Nigeria Police Force at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport.

This was contained in a statement by the Police on Thursday.

The aircraft carrying the former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team landed at the airport at 2.15 pm.

Speaking with journalists at the airport, the Commissioner of Police in charge of Interpol said Maina was brought back to Nigeria on the directive of the IGP, Mohammed Adamu.

Maina is standing trial for alleged money laundering to the tune of N2 billion.

The trial judge, Justice Abang Okon issued a warrant for his arrest after he ‘jumped bail’ and failed to appear in court.

He was said to have stopped attending his trial since September 29, 2020, prompting Justice Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja, to order the remand of his surety, Senator Ali Ndume, last week.

Senator Ali Ndume, who stood as surety for Mr. Maina was remanded in prison by a court before he was eventually granted bail on November 27.

Following Maina’s extradition, the Nigeria Police Force has released a statement explaining how he was arrested and returned to Nigeria.

The statement reads in full

ABDUL RASHEED MAINA EXTRADITED TO NIGERIA

The Nigeria Police Force has extradited Abdulrasheed Abdullahi Maina, former chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT), today, 3rd December 2020, to Nigeria from Niamey, Niger Republic, where he was arrested having been declared wanted by a court of competent jurisdiction over a pending criminal trial against him.

Recall that Abdulrashid Maina was arrested on 30th November 2020 through the collaborative efforts of the operatives of the Nigeria Police Force, INTERPOL NCB, Abuja and their Nigerien counterpart. The team from INTERPOL Nigeria, led by the Commissioner of Police INTERPOL, CP Garba Umar, having completed the necessary documentation requirements and other extradition processes, flew the wanted former Pension Boss, Maina into Nigeria aboard an NPF Jet 5N-HAR and landed at exactly 1417Hrs (Nigerian Time).

Meanwhile, the Inspector General of Police, IGP M.A Adamu, NPM, mni while applauding the trans-national/inter-agency collaborations that led to the successful arrest and extradition of the wanted fugitive, assures that necessary legal actions will follow immediately.

DCP FRANK MBA

FORCE PUBLIC RELATIONS OFFICER

FORCE HEADQUARTERS

ABUJA