Yusuf Bello|A Federal High Court, Abuja, on Friday ordered the remand of the embattled former chairman of the Pension Reforms Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, in prison custody.
Justice Okon Abang granted the remand order following a request by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission after he pleaded not guilty to the 12 counts.
The judge consequently adjourned untill October 30 for trial and November 19 for suitability of his application for bail filed before arraignment.
Maina is facing charges of money laundering, operating fictitious bank accounts and fraud.
The court also remanded Faisal, the son of the embattled former pension Boss following his arraignment by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for money laundering.
Faisal who was accused of operating an anonymous account with UBA which he used to launder N58m, pleaded not guilty to a 3-count charge of money laundering brought against him.
The trial judge, Okon Abang, declined to hear Faisal’s bail application raised by his lawyer, Adeola Adedipe, on grounds that it was incompetent.
Abang ruled, “A Court of law only has jurisdiction to decide bail upon the arraignment of a defendant, not before it. An application filed before his arraignment is incompetent. It is in the light of the above that the application for bail filed before arraignment deserves to be withdrawn.”
He subsequently ordered that Faisal be remanded at the police special tactical squad in Asokoro, while the case was adjourned till November 6 for the commencement of trial.
Cover photo source: ChannelsTv
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