In 2010, as thousands of Nigerian pensioners queued endlessly for unpaid benefits, Abdulrasheed Maina, then chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms, was quietly acquiring luxury properties abroad.
In August of that year, Mr Maina purchased a $215,000 house in Kentucky, United States, paying cash with no mortgage, according to property records reviewed by Premium Times and its investigative partners.
That transaction marked the beginning of a string of foreign property acquisitions allegedly funded with money diverted from Nigeria’s pension system.
A cross-border investigation by Premium Times, the Organised Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP), and the Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa (PPLAAF) has revealed that between 2010 and 2013, Mr Maina acquired four properties in the United States and the United Arab Emirates worth over $1.3m.
The purchases coincided with the period Nigerian authorities later alleged that Mr Maina siphoned millions of dollars from pension funds under his control.
Property records show that:
In August 2010, Mr Maina bought a house in Frankfort, Kentucky, for $215,000 in cash.
In 2011, through VIU Investment LLC, a company he controlled, he purchased two more homes in Kentucky for a combined $415,000, again paying cash.
In June 2013, he bought a two-bedroom hotel apartment in Dubai for nearly $700,000, shortly after he was removed from office.
The Dubai property is currently registered in the name of his daughter, Farida Abdulrasheed Maina.
Timing Raises Questions
Court documents indicate that Mr Maina and his personal secretary allegedly diverted over $1m from pension funds between 2010 and 2013—a timeline that aligns closely with the property purchases.
According to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Maina fraudulently obtained $1.8m from public funds through pension biometrics contracts shortly before buying the first US property.
Divorce Deal Transfers US Property
The investigation further revealed that Mr Maina’s ex-wife, Laila Abdulrasheed Maina, gained ownership of one of the US properties through a divorce settlement.
In 2022, a Kentucky court dissolved their 30-year marriage and awarded Laila the $215,000 Frankfort home, which Mr Maina had bought in 2010 with cash.
At the time of the divorce, Mr Maina had already been convicted of money laundering in Nigeria.
The EFCC did not attempt to seize the US properties, and their existence had not been publicly disclosed until now.
EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale told PREMIUM TIMES that the agency would likely investigate any foreign assets linked to illicit proceeds if provided with sufficient information.
Asset Transfers and Trusts
As corruption allegations intensified in Nigeria, Mr Maina began reshuffling ownership of his American properties.
In January 2013, he transferred the two Kentucky homes owned by VIU Investment LLC first to himself and then to the Abdulrasheed Maina Children’s Trust.
He fled Nigeria for Dubai in March 2013.
When he returned in 2017, public outrage followed revelations that he had been secretly reinstated into the civil service despite being a fugitive.
Arrest, Trial and Conviction
Mr Maina was declared wanted by the EFCC, arrested in 2019, and charged with money laundering.
In November 2021, Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court sentenced him to eight years’ imprisonment for laundering N2bn in pension funds.
“The convict’s salary as a civil servant was a little above N300,000 and could not have amounted to N2bn even if he saved for 35 years,” the judge held.
Mr Maina fled trial once more but was rearrested in Niger Republic and extradited to Nigeria.
His son, Faisal Maina, was also convicted in a separate money laundering case and sentenced in absentia after fleeing to the United States.
Early Release, Public Outrage
The Nigerian Correctional Service confirmed that Mr Maina was released on February 25, 2025, following statutory remission for good behaviour.
He resurfaced publicly last week after a branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) named him a patron and presented him with a “Rule of Law and Courage Award.”
The NBA national leadership swiftly disowned the award and announced disciplinary action against the branch officials involved.
Two Names, Two Jurisdictions
Following her divorce, Laila changed her name in the US to Laila Duke Williams in late 2022.
However, in Nigeria, she continues to operate under Laila Abdulrasheed Maina, incorporating two companies in 2024 using that name, according to Corporate Affairs Commission records.
Both Mr Maina and his ex-wife hold dual Nigerian and American citizenship.
In Kentucky, Laila declared herself unemployed during divorce proceedings.
Yet earlier, she had filed affidavits in Nigerian courts claiming ownership of several properties the EFCC sought to confiscate, insisting they were bought from proceeds of an African fabric export business.
The EFCC countered that no evidence supported such claims.
In 2024, all 23 Nigerian properties linked to Mr Maina—including one bought with $1.4m cash—were finally forfeited to the Federal Government.
Assets Beyond Nigeria’s Reach
While Nigerian authorities recovered domestic assets, Mr Maina’s foreign properties remain beyond their reach.
Former US Justice Department official Stefan Cassella said American authorities could pursue money laundering charges against Laila if it is proven she knowingly benefited from criminal proceeds.
“If she knew the property was criminally derived, she could face charges in the US,” Cassella said, noting that the statute of limitations has not yet expired.
According to Premium Times, both Mr Maina and Laila declined to respond to multiple requests for comment.
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