Pension Scam: EFCC failure to indict Maina proves he was persecuted-Group

The Conference of Minority Ethnic Nationalities and Allied Organizations has said contrary to wild allegations of fraud leveled against former pension boss, Ibrahim Maina by the EFCC, the government has not been able to prove any case of wrong doing against him in the over three years since he was first wrongly accused of playing a role in the N2billion pension scam.

Addressing journalists in Abuja, Convener/President of the group, Comrade Bitrus Bot said all efforts by the EFCC to pin evidence of wrong doing on Mr. Maina have been largely futile. 

He alleged that, "a Senate investigation of Mr. Maina in 2012 turned out to be a concerted effort to extort bribe from him. If there was any valid case against him, he would have been convicted by a competent court in the space of the three years that has lapsed."

According to him, since the government has failed to prove that Maina is guilty, it therefore calls on the Nigerian government to allow him return home under government protection as a state witness. 

"It will be easier to convict those indicted over the pension scam once the prosecution has a state witness of Maina’s stature." he said.

He said further, "this is why we are calling for renewed investigation into the pension sector. Nigerians were once outraged by the mind boggling N2billion pension scam and subsequently called for the head of Mr. Abdulrsheed Maina, who was the former Chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team. 

The good thing that has come out of this is that Mr Maina has been able to expose the truth behind the scene. He levelled bribery allegations against some highly placed Nigerians such as the former chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr Ibrahim Lamorde, Senator Aloysius Etuk who should have been exercising Senate oversight on pension amongst others.

"The Conference of Minority Ethnic Nationalities and Allied Organizations therefore demand for the investigation of Mr. Lamorde, Senator Etuk and every other person thief indicted by Mr. Maina in the Pension Scam. We further demand that the investigation and any resulting trial must be devoid of the drama that is the hallmark of anti-corruption crusade in Nigeria. This time around should be different. We want to see the EFCC get to the bottom of this case.

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