A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the final forfeiture of 20 properties linked to Abdulrasheed Maina, the convicted former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT).
The properties, located in various parts of the country, were found to have been acquired illegally.
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Justice Joyce Abdulmalik, in her judgment, stated that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt, and the respondents failed to establish their ownership of the properties with credible evidence.
The judge said, “It is trite in law that civil cases in non-conviction forfeiture are hinged on the preponderance of evidence. I do hold that the evidential burden of proof indeed shifted to the claimants to establish by way of cogent documentary evidence, the sequential trail of the genesis of their finances leading to the buildup as well as the acquisition of the aforementioned properties subject of interim forfeiture.”
The properties include duplexes, farms, and plots of land in Abuja, Nasarawa, Kaduna, and Kano states. Maina’s wife, Laila, and his associates had claimed ownership of the properties, but failed to provide credible evidence.
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This development follows Maina’s eight-year jail term for pension fraud to the tune of N2 billion.
The EFCC had earlier obtained an interim forfeiture order for the properties, which has now been made final.
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