Controversial ex-civil servant Abdulrasheed Abdullahi Maina may have been smuggled out of the country to an unknown destination through Niger Republic, it was learnt last night.
Security sources believe Niger Republic is the “usual route” of the sacked chairman of the Presidential task Force on Pension Reform.
It was also learnt the the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) uncovered N500million diverted pension funds in a bank account.
The account is believed to be Maina’s, run through his shell company, Cluster Logistics.
Also N150million DSS pension funds was traced to the account of the shell firm.
The trial of Maina and three others is expected to resume today at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
According to an Intelligence source, who spoke in confidence with our correspondent, there was a strong suspicion that Maina had escaped abroad.
The source said: “From clues available to us, Maina has been smuggled out of the country to a jurisdiction abroad. Intelligence trails indicated that he was smuggled through Niger Republic, his usual route, abroad. And he was even escorted out of this country.
“There is no hiding place for him; we will get him at all costs. He has always used the Niger Republic route to escape justice.”
A source in the EFCC spoke of how detectives initially uncovered N500million inflow into the shell company’s account being managed by Maina’s brother, who is an account officer in the bank and a director of Cluster Logistics. Maina was giving instructions on withdrawals from the account, he said, pleading not to be named.
“A separate N150million from DSS Pension funds was credited to the slush account in the name of Biometric Service,” the source said, adding:
“All the funds were withdrawn in cash and converted into dollars. These transactions were effected between November 16, 2011 and November 4, 2012. We are suspecting some internal collaborators in the agency during the period in question.
“We cannot go into details on the fraud perpetrated by Maina with the pension funds of a sister security agency unless the President orders a forensic audit into the DSS pension funds.”
Maina has been arraigned with a former Head of the Civil Service of the Federation, Mr. Steve Oronsaye, and two others before the court for alleged N2billion Pension funds said to have been spent on biometric contracts.
Others standing trial in the case, which began on July 10, 2015, are Osarenkhoe Afe and Fredrick Hamilton and Global Services Limited.
All the suspects are facing a 24-count charge bordering on procurement fraud and obtaining by false pretence. Neither Maina nor Oronsaye has been discharged.
Oronsaye and two others pleaded not guilty to the charge, Maina has been on the run.
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