‘I’ll Appear Before The Court When Doctor Certifies My Health’ – Maina

Former Chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, on Thursday, noted that he will appear before the court when he is cleared by his doctor.

Maina who is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission for allegedly laundering N2bn stated this in a video which was spotted online on Thursday.

He was seen answering questions from an unseen journalist who claimed to be on an independent investigation to verify if Maina had jumped bail.

The former Pension boss was spotted lying in a bad while replying questions asked, while his son, Faisal, who is also being prosecuted for separate charges, seated beside him.

Maina has been absent from court on seven consecutive occasions since September 29, 2020, when his trial was scheduled to have resumed.

Recall that Senator Ali Ndume, on October 2, told the court that he has no information on the whereabouts of Maina.

Maina, who was in hiding for about two years before he was rearrested by the EFCC last year, said in the video clip that he had not absconded from his ongoing trial.

Maina when asked when he would appear before the court said, “The doctors are here. You need to ask the doctors. But what they told me was that I would need six to seven weeks for recovery.”

But when asked further if he was ready for his trial, he said, “Of course I am ready, as soon as I am healed.”

“They told me that the next knee cap, they may not be able to do it here,” Maina added.

Asked to respond to specific allegations that he had jumped bail, Maina said, “You have done your independent investigation. You were able to get my location.”

“Now you have seen me. You have seen the situation and you are able to tell whether or not I am running away from my trial.”

Maina also alleged that the judge had in the course of the trial shown bias against him, citing an occasion when the judge asked him to stop gazing at him.

He said, “My lawyer asked him why, and he said ‘I don’t want him to look at me because I have a wife and children, and I want them alive’. Does that suggest that looking at him would kill his wife and children?”