The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Friday November 22, 2019, before Justice Okon Abang, of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, presented its first prosecution witness (PW1), one Mairo Abdulahi Bashir, against Faisal Abdulrasheed Maina, son of the former Chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina. Faisal is being prosecuted on three criminal counts of receiving proceeds of unlawful activities using a fictitious name.
He was arraigned alongside his father, Abdulrasheed Abdullahi Maina, for lunadering over N2billion of stolen pension funds.
At the resumed hearing today , prosecuting counsel, M.S Abubakar, reminded the court that the matter was adjourned till November 22, for continuation of trial and presented his first witness, Mairo Abdulahi Bashir, a Business Manager with the United Bank for Africa, who oversees the business affairs of the bank as it relates to sales operations, generation of deposits and administration of loans.
The witness told the court that she was the one that opened the UBA bank account of the defendant, and proceeded to identify the account opening packages, mandate card, bank statements and certification as required by law. Attempt by the prosecution to tender the documents was opposed by the defense counsel, Francis Orasanye, on the grounds that the purported certified documents were not signed by the witness.He argued that Section 33 (1) (a) of the Evidence Act, states that certified documents must be tendered by the maker.
However, prosecuting counsel, Abubakar, urged the court to discountenance the submission of the defence counsel on the grounds that Section 84 of the Evidence Act, 2011, did not specify that only the originator of a document can tender it in court.
Justice Abang adjourned the matter till November 25, 2019, for further argument on the admissibility of the documents and November 29, 2019, for ruling on bail application.
