The embattled ex-chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms, Abdulrasheed Maina, who has been accused of complicity in a N2bn fraud, is on the run.
The fugitive, who is still on the wanted list of the EFCC for the alleged offence, went into hiding soon after news that the anti-graft agency had launched a manhunt for him became public.
President Buhari who was said to have been misled about Maina is in sock over latest revelations.
Maina, who had been reinstated as an acting director in the Ministry of Interior, according to Punch, was to meet with yet to be identified persons in his office but had a change of heart as he was nowhere near the office building up until 2.00pm.
The reception looked dreary while two young men in the waiting room fiddled with their phones as they conversed in low tones. Attempts to speak with the female secretary, who refused to give her name, failed as she rebuffed all questions.
In response to enquiries about the whereabouts of Maina, she snapped, “I don’t know where he is.”
A source, who spoke to Punch, in confidence due to the sensitivity of the matter, said Maina travelled to Kano during the weekend and had given appointments to some persons to meet him at the office on Monday but went into hiding soon afterwards.
The source said, “He planned to meet with some visitors in his office on Monday but for him to have aborted the appointment and switched off his phones meant he had gone underground. He may not be seen for a little while.”
It was learnt that the fugitive had over the last few months held meetings with groups and individuals with respect to his ambition to contest in the 2019 governorship election in his home state of Borno.
“Maina has not hidden his political plans as he is known to broadcast his ambition on WhatsApp platform to his friends and associates,” the source further explained.
Nigeria’s foremost anti-graft agency, the EFCC said it was still searching for Maina whom it declared wanted about two years ago.
The EFCC Spokesman, Mr. Wilson Uwujaren, who spoke to Punch around 8pm on Monday, said they are still on his trail.
The EFCC had marked his houses in Abuja including a house in Jabi said to be worth about $2m.
“Yes, his properties were marked today. To the best of my knowledge, he has not yet been arrested.”
Another source within the EFCC accused a sister security agency, the Department of State Services, of shielding the suspect from arrest.
The source said Maina was moving around town in a bulletproof Range Rover Sports Utility Vehicle and two or three vehicles.
The source said, “We have traced him to a hotel in Kaduna where he went to spend the weekend; we know that the DSS is protecting him and the DG DSS, deployed men to protect him. But make no mistake, we will arrest him, already we’ve frozen all his accounts.”
Another source said, “He stays in a property which is a DSS safe house. He moves around in a convoy of about two or three vehicles. I personally saw him alighting from a Range Rover SUV last week with about four DSS officials.”
The DSS, which has no official media relations officer, also responded to EFCC’s allegations through a source close to it, the source challenged the EFCC to support its claims with evidence.
The DSS source said, “There is no need responding to baseless allegations because there was nothing like that. Both of us are doing same work, which is apart from making the country safe from fraudulent people, we also collaborate with each other in the area of collating of data on other things. This is why I’m surprised on this baseless allegation by an unknown person. Anyway, that’s all.”
Commenting on the manhunt for the fugitive, prominent human rights lawyer, Femi Falana (SAN), has called on the EFCC to compel Dambazzau to produce him.
He said since the minister admitted Maina was working under him, he should know his whereabouts.
He said, “The allegation on the ground is that he has stolen N100bn from pension fund. It is the worst case of corruption. It is a crime against humanity to divert money meant for pensioners. Whether he was reinstated properly or not is diversionary. The questions should be when will government recover the money? When will he be arraigned?
“The EFCC should ask those who reinstated him to produce him. He is in a ministry and the minister has come out to admit that he has been promoted.”
A Lagos lawyer, Mr. Jiti Ogunye, hailed the President for taking action but noted that Buhari lacked the power to dismiss a civil servant as it contravenes Rule 04102 of the Public Service Rules which provides that “the power to dismiss and to exercise disciplinary control over officers in the Federal Civil Service Commission is vested in the FCSC.”
Ogunye, however, urged the President to sack all his appointees that might have aided Maina.
At about 8.24pm on Monday, Punch confirmed that Mrs. Oyo-Ita had complied with Buhari’s directive by submitting a report on the circumstances surrounding the reinstatement and subsequent posting of Maina as an acting director in the Ministry of Interior.
While confirming that she has carried out the President’s directive, Oyo-Ita explained that the role played by her office in the whole saga was based on legal advice by the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami (SAN).
The following conversation ensued between our Punch and the Head of Service:
Punch: I am trying to find out Ma if you have made the report on Maina’s reinstatement available to the President as directed.
Oyo-Ita: Oh! Of course, I have.
Punch: Oh, You’ve done that already?
Oyo-Ita: Yes, I did.
Punch: We have also seen a statement from your office that you did not order his reinstatement.
Oyo-Ita: Yes! Please, I need to correct that erroneous impression.
Punch: We also have a document indicating that the advice for Maina’s reinstatement was given by the AGF.
Oyo-Ita: Yes.
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