The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has declared former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Abdullahi Maina, wanted over an alleged case of receiving stolen property.
The EFCC published the wanted notice on Wednesday, September 23, 2026, identifying Maina, 61, as an indigene of Biu in Borno State.
The notice was signed by the commission’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, and included Maina’s photograph.
EFCC seeks information on Maina’s whereabouts
In the notice, the anti-graft agency asked members of the public with information about Maina’s whereabouts to contact the commission or the nearest police station and other security agencies.
The EFCC listed its offices in Abuja, Lagos, Ibadan, Uyo, Sokoto, Maiduguri, Benin, Makurdi, Kaduna, Ilorin, Enugu, Kano, Gombe and Port Harcourt as locations where information could be provided.
The commission also provided a telephone contact and its official email address for members of the public who may have relevant information.
The current notice describes the allegation as “Receiving Stolen Properties.”
The EFCC has not stated in the notice that Maina has been convicted in relation to this particular allegation.
New allegation is separate from earlier conviction
Maina has previously faced major criminal proceedings connected to alleged pension fraud and money laundering.
In a separate case, the EFCC prosecuted him over allegations involving pension funds. A Federal High Court in Abuja convicted him in 2021 on 12 counts relating to money laundering and related offences.
The court imposed a total prison sentence of 61 years, with the terms to run concurrently, and ordered financial restitution connected to the case.
The Court of Appeal subsequently upheld his conviction in May 2023.
That earlier conviction should not be confused with the allegation contained in the latest wanted notice.
The EFCC’s September 2026 notice specifically identifies an alleged case of receiving stolen property and does not state that the new wanted declaration represents a new conviction.
Another case involving alleged stolen funds
Maina is also facing a separate criminal case before the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja.
According to TheCable, the EFCC is prosecuting Maina and Ann Igwe Olachi in connection with an alleged receipt of stolen funds amounting to about ₦738.6 million.
The case dates back to their arraignment in 2019 and remained before the court in 2026.
At a February 2026 proceeding, the judge expressed frustration over delays in the matter after Maina’s new lawyer requested additional time to study the case.
The existence of that pending case provides context for the current development, but the EFCC’s new wanted notice does not publicly state that the ₦738.6 million allegation is the specific matter for which Maina is now being sought.
Maina’s earlier role in pension reform
Maina became nationally prominent as chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team, which was established to address problems surrounding pension administration and alleged fraud.
His work in the position included efforts to identify pension beneficiaries and recover funds believed to have been improperly obtained.
The role later became the subject of criminal investigations and prosecutions.
The EFCC had previously declared Maina wanted in 2015 in connection with allegations involving procurement fraud, stealing and a pension biometric contract case involving other officials.
He was later arrested in Niger Republic in 2020 after leaving Nigeria while facing criminal proceedings and was subsequently returned to the country to continue his trial.
Why the new declaration matters
The latest wanted notice places Maina at the centre of another active law-enforcement action after years of legal proceedings relating to pension funds and financial offences.
For the EFCC, locating a person who is the subject of an active investigation or criminal proceeding is an important step in enabling the relevant legal process to continue.
For the public, however, the distinction between an allegation, a charge, a conviction and a new wanted declaration remains important.
Being declared wanted over an alleged offence does not by itself establish that the person committed that offence.
In this case, the EFCC’s latest notice identifies the allegation as receiving stolen property.
What happens next
The immediate development is the EFCC’s request for information about Maina’s whereabouts.
The commission has asked anyone with relevant information to contact its offices, the police or other security agencies.
Further developments are likely to depend on whether Maina is located and how the authorities proceed with the underlying matter.
Any subsequent court proceedings would determine the status of the allegations through the judicial process.
For now, the confirmed development is that the EFCC has issued a fresh wanted notice for Abdulrasheed Maina over an alleged case of receiving stolen property.
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