Maina slumps in court — and judge suspends sitting

Abdulrasheed Maina, former chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT), has collapsed before a federal high court in Abuja where he is being tried on charges of money laundering.

Maina slumped few minutes into the trial on Thursday while sitting beside the defendant’s dock.

The former pension chief on Wednesday told the court that he had no case to answer shortly after the EFCC, through its counsel, Farouk Abdullah, closed its case with the ninth prosecution witness.

Anayo Adibe, Maina’s new counsel, told Okon Abang, the judge, that he would file a formal application to argue his client’s no-case submission.

But at today’s sitting, Adibe said he would not be able to proceed with the application as he is yet to get the record of proceedings.

Before Adibe could make further submissions, his client slumped.

This stirred an uproar in the court as prison warders and some lawyers rushed to resuscitate him. Owing to the development, the judge was forced to suspend the proceedings.

Maina was arraigned before Abang on October 25, 2019, by the EFCC alongside his firm, Common Input Property and Investment Ltd.

Although he is facing 12-counts bordering on money laundering to the tune of N2 billion, he had pleaded not guilty to all the charges.

Maina was extradited to Nigeria after his arrest in Niger Republic last Monday. He had jumped bail, leading to the arrest of Ali Ndume, a serving senator, who stood as his surety.