The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is awaiting the formal hand over of former Chairman of the Pension Reform Task Force, Abdulrasheed Maina, who was reportedly arrested by the Department of State Security (DSS) on Monday.
Maina was declared wanted for the diversion of N100 billion pension fund meant for the payment of pensioners.
Although there was no categorical statement by the DSS, Maina was reportedly arrested when he sneaked into the country from Dubai where he was holed up after a failed bid to be reinstated into the civil service.
A competent source told the media that the DSS had established informal contact with the EFCC preparatory to his formal hand over to the anti-graft agency.
"They have established informal contact with the commission since it's an inter-agency investigation.
"It is expected that they will hand him over officially when they are done with the investigation at their own end," the source said.
Maina, who was assigned the task of effecting pension reforms in the civil service, had absconded from duty in 2013 following a recommendation to the office of the Head of Service.
The Senate had after an investigation found that Maina diverted N100 billion and subsequently issued an arrest warrant.
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The police had declared him wanted, forcing him to go into hiding after making some statements of innocence.
He had returned to the country in 2017 and was secretly reinstated into the Ministry of Interior before President Buhari ordered his dismissal.
Security sources said Maina was picked up Monday after his return to Abuja.
"Following inter-agency collaboration, intelligence report indicated that Maina had sneaked into the country from Dubai.
“He was trailed to an Abuja hotel where he was arrested after operatives outwitted those who tried to ferry him away in a bullet-proof vehicle", some operatives of DSS reportedly said while noting that "he is currently being quizzed. He is likely to be handed over to the EFCC for trial. He has a pending case since 2015,” a source said.
Prior to the last general elections,
Maina's posters flooded Maiduguri and Abuja indicating that he was making a gubernatorial bid.
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