The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has declared Abdulrasheed Abdullahi Maina, former chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, wanted over an alleged case of receiving stolen property (Daily Nigerian, 2026).
The wanted notice, signed by EFCC Head of Media and Publicity Dele Oyewale, was published on Wednesday, September 23, 2026. It identified Maina as a 61-year-old indigene of Biu, Borno State, and urged members of the public with information about his whereabouts to contact any EFCC office or the nearest police station (Punch, 2026).
A Decades-Long Legal Saga
This is not Maina’s first appearance on the EFCC’s wanted list. He was first declared wanted in 2015 over alleged procurement fraud and money laundering linked to a biometric enrolment contract scandal involving former Head of Civil Service Stephen Oronsaye (Premium Times, 2026).
He fled Nigeria, was arrested in Niger Republic, and brought back to face trial. In November 2021, a Federal High Court in Abuja convicted him of money laundering involving more than N2 billion in pension funds. He was sentenced to eight years in prison, with the individual sentences on 12 counts totalling 61 years to run concurrently (The ICIR, 2026).
The Court of Appeal upheld the conviction in 2023. Maina was released from Kuje Correctional Centre on February 25, 2025, after serving part of his sentence. The Nigerian Correctional Service attributed his release to good conduct and statutory remission (Pulse Nigeria, 2026).
Why He Is Wanted Again
The EFCC’s latest notice specifically cites “receiving stolen property” as the allegation. Notably, the commission did not disclose the value or nature of the property allegedly received, nor did it state when the alleged offence occurred (Vanguard, 2026).
This lack of detail has drawn a response from Maina’s legal team. In a statement issued Thursday by his Senior Media and Legal Assistant, Emmanuel Umahi Ekwe, Maina asked the EFCC to explain why he was declared wanted. The statement noted the notice “did not disclose the nature or description of the alleged stolen property, the transaction involved, the person or persons from whom it was allegedly received, or the date and circumstances of the alleged offence” (Naija News, 2026).
“It would therefore be premature for us to speculate on facts that have not been made available to us,” the statement said, adding that legal action would follow once the EFCC provides clarification (Tribune, 2026).
The Case That Never Ends
The latest wanted notice comes against the backdrop of a separate ongoing trial. Maina is facing a nine-count charge before the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Asokoro, Abuja, alongside Ann Igwe Olachi, over the alleged receipt of N738 million in stolen funds (The ICIR, 2026).
In February 2026, Justice Abubakar Kutigi expressed frustration over delays, noting that Maina had not appeared in court for more than three years. “If your client cannot come to court, I will revoke his bail and let them go and get him,” the judge warned (Premium Times, 2026).
The court was told that a trial-within-trial to determine the admissibility of statements Maina allegedly made to the EFCC had been stalled by his absence. The judge noted that he had been in the legal profession for over 35 years and had never seen a case like it (Premium Times, 2026).
During that hearing, an EFCC investigator, Gogi Mohammed, testified that investigations traced assets to a relative in Kaduna, where documents for over 30 properties were discovered, mostly in Abuja and Kaduna State. Some properties were purchased in cash, including one in Jabi, Abuja for $2 million and another in Life Camp for $1.7 million (Premium Times, 2026).
The Pension Scandal That Made Him Famous
Maina rose to prominence as chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms under President Goodluck Jonathan, where he was tasked with recovering pension funds and tackling fraud in the system. His tenure ended in controversy, and he fled Nigeria in 2012 after alleging multiple assassination attempts (The Sun Nigeria, 2026).
The EFCC later accused him of operating a complex web of illicit deals that saw hundreds of millions in pension funds end up in private accounts. Court records showed Maina operated accounts through proxy companies, with over N2.7 billion flowing through accounts linked to him between 2010 and 2013. His son, Faisal Abdullahi, had a turnover of over N1.5 billion in less than a year (EFCC, 2017).
During his trial, three of Maina’s siblings, including two sisters and a brother, testified for the prosecution. His sisters told the court that he used their personal details and utility bills to open bank accounts for his company, Common Input Property and Investment Limited. The company was also convicted and ordered to be wound up (Premium Times, 2026).
Justice Okon Abang, who convicted him in 2021, held that Maina stole over N2 billion belonging to pensioners, “most of whom have died without reaping the fruits of their labour.” The judge ruled that Maina concealed his identity as a signatory to several bank accounts by using the names of his family members without their knowledge (Naija News, 2026).
Why This Matters
Maina’s case is not just about one man. It is a window into how pension fraud operates at scale in Nigeria. The scheme he allegedly ran involved biometric enrolment contracts, fake allowances, and inflated procurement deals, all routed through the Office of the Head of Service of the Federation.
The EFCC’s latest wanted notice is a public appeal, not an arrest. Whether it leads to another dramatic capture remains to be seen. Maina has evaded capture before, fled the country once, and was only brought back after an international operation involving INTERPOL and Nigerien authorities (Pulse Nigeria, 2026).
For pensioners who lost their savings, and for Nigerians who watched the scandal unfold over more than a decade, the question is not whether Maina will be found. It is whether the system that allowed him to operate has changed at all.
