The Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the remand of Faisal Maina, son of former Pension Reform Taskforce chairman, Abdulrasheed Maina, in a correctional facility to serve his seven-year prison sentence.

Justice James Omotosho gave the directive following an ex parte application filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and argued by its counsel, M.K. Hussain.

Faisal was rearrested by operatives of the Department of State Services (DSS) on October 14 and subsequently handed over to the EFCC after allegedly absconding from his trial and jumping bail about six years ago.

He was first arraigned before the Federal High Court in Abuja in 2019 on a three-count charge of money laundering and failure to make full disclosure in an asset declaration form.

Following his failure to appear in court, proceedings continued in his absence. In October 2021, Justice Okon Abang, now a Court of Appeal judge, convicted him and sentenced him to five years' imprisonment on counts one and three, and 14 years on count two.

The sentences were ordered to run concurrently, with the court directing that he be arrested wherever he was found and taken to a correctional centre.

However, the Court of Appeal, in a judgment delivered in November 2022, upheld his conviction but reduced the sentences, holding that the trial court was wrong to impose the maximum punishment on a first-time offender.

Giving effect to the appellate court's decision of November 24, 2022, Justice Omotosho ordered that Faisal serve three years' imprisonment on count one, seven years on count two and three years on count three.

The judge directed that all three sentences run concurrently, with the term commencing from October 14, the date of his rearrest.

The case involved allegations that Faisal operated a fictitious account with United Bank for Africa (UBA), through which his father allegedly laundered N58.1 million.

The account, reportedly opened in the name of "Alhaji Faisal Farm 2", was allegedly used by both Faisal and his father to receive and withdraw funds between October 2013 and June 2019.

Abdulrasheed Maina, who headed the defunct Pension Reform Taskforce Team, was also convicted in a separate N2 billion money laundering case and has since completed his prison sentence.

The latest court directive means Faisal will now begin serving his seven-year jail term, nearly six years after his conviction in absentia and subsequent flight from the judicial process.