The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has launched a fresh manhunt for the former head, Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms, Abdulrasheed Maina. Maina was sacked from the civil service in 2013 following which he was placed on wanted list of the International Police by the EFCC.
The manhunt is coming less than a week after his reinstatement into the federal civil service. He was reported to have been secretly reinstated into the civil service, with promotion, despite being wanted for alleged corruption. It was further gathered that the embattled civil servant was issued a letter of reinstatement dated October 2 by the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation.
Minister of Interior, Abdurahman Dambazau, had earlier absolved himself of any responsibility in Maina’s reinstatement, saying it was done by the Office of the Head of Service. The October 2 letter claimed that Maina’s case was reviewed and decision taken that he be reinstated. The same letter also revealed his new posting as acting director of the Department of Human Resources at the Ministry of Interior. His reinstatement, is believed to be at the behest of the AttorneyGeneral of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, upon his favourable legal advice on the case. Malami’s spokesperson, Salihu Othman, however, said he was unaware of his boss’s role in the deal. Irked by the news of Maina’s silent re-entry into the country, the EFCC leadership convened an emergency meeting yesterday to strategise on the case. As the fall out of the meeting, according to our source, operatives have been detailed “to smoke out Mr. Maina wherever he maybe.”
Maina is said to shuttling between Kaduna and Abuja since his return to the country. Aside the Ministry of Interior, Maina’s new working place, detectives are said to be spread around the city, including a security safe house that is said to be off ered Maina by an elite security formation. Also marked for surveillance are Maina’s many houses in Abuja, including one, EFCC sources said he bought in June 2015 at $2 million. Corroborating the source, EFCC’s spokesperson, Wilson Uwujaren, said Maina “is still a fugitive; we are after him.
” The EFCC is also said to be piqued at how someone that was put on the wanted list of the International Police sneaked back to the country without any trace.
The commission suspects sabotage, according to a highly placed official. Documents seen by our reporter show the many correspondences between the EFCC and the Interpol on the request to put Maina’s name on wanted list.
The Commission first wrote the Inspector-General of Police in November 2015 few days after Magu’s ascension, asking for Maina’s name to be flagged by Interpol. However, the letter was declared missing by the office of the Commissioner Interpol at the Force Headquarters, making the agency to produce the request again.
On January 12, 2016, the Interpol wrote to the EFCC again requesting for additional details to enable the red alert. Although the letter was responded to by the commission, but a search for Maina on the Interpol website returned no record. The breach leading to Maina’s return is also set to be investigated by the EFCC. Premium Times
