Former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, has hired a new legal team to oversee his fraud trial at the Federal High Court, Abuja.
Maina’s new counsel, Joe-kyari Gadzama, replaces Ahmed Raji.
[ads]
They are both Senior Advocates of Nigeria (SANs).
The change of counsel was made known to the court on Wednesday as Maina’s trial opened.
Gadzama asked for an adjournment of the matter because he was only briefed the previous day to take over the case.
Gadzama added that he was meeting Maina for the first time in court.
The judge, however, declined, saying the court would commence the trial.
Maina is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a 12-count charge bordering “money laundering, operating fictitious bank accounts and fraud.”
He pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
With the judge ruling in favour of the prosecution, the court proceeded with the matter, resulting in the evidence of the first prosecution witness, Mairo Bashir, a business manager with UBA.
[ads]
Led in evidence by prosecution counsel, M.S Abubakar, Bashir revealed that sometime in 2011, she solicited for fund from the defendant while he was the chairman of Pension Reforms Task Team and that Maina made a deposit of N3billion in the UBA which she said, was later transferred to the Treasury Single Account, TSA with CBN around 2012.
The case was adjourned till November 4, 5, 6 and 7 for continuation of trial.
