Former Chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms, Abdulrasheed Maina, has reignited public attention on the legal and political battles that have shadowed his career, alleging irregularities in the judicial process against him and accusing government officials of orchestrating circumstances that were later used to claim he had jumped bail.
His comments came during a ceremony where he was honored with the Rule of Law and Courage Award by the Garki Branch of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA).
The event was held on Thursday, January 22, 2026, and portions of his speech were captured in a video shared by TV Platinum.
Speaking at the ceremony, Maina questioned the legitimacy of his trial, asserting, “There was no trial.” He elaborated on a medical trip he said was facilitated by government authorities for knee surgery, contending that the same trip was later used as a pretext for accusations that he had absconded.
“The same government of Buhari that took me to Niger to go and do my knee surgery, using the government aircraft of the IG police, the same system came and said I jump bail,” he said.
Maina described the logistical arrangements surrounding the trip, noting that he was instructed to provide for fuel costs but that the journey itself was conducted with official government support.
“How? You took me around 4.30 AM. You said I should look for money and pay for the diesel, for the gas, whatever, fuel. You’re going to assist me to go and do my leg, and come back since we have two months to the next adjournment,” he stated.
He claimed to have raised concerns about notifying the judiciary before departing, but was allegedly told to disregard it. “And I even asked, I said, but the judge needs to be notified. They said forget about it. These are high government officials,” Maina recalled, emphasizing that the trip was conducted officially using government resources.
“I went to the hospital. They took bloods and then asked me to go to the hotel, and they will get back to me the next day,” he said. He added that while he was at the hotel, news reports began circulating suggesting he had returned to Nigeria and was under arrest. “I was in the hotel when I started to see messages that Maina has been in Nigeria. Maina is arrested in Nigeria,” he recalled.
The former pension boss described a video call with his mother in which he tried to explain the situation while showing her his surroundings to assure her of his safety.
“She said I should walk down. I walked down. She said I should go to the main road. She wants to see the main road. I went to the main road. She saw me,” Maina narrated. He added that the conversation left him perplexed. “I said, I don’t understand, Mama. She said, are they not the ones who took you there? I said, yes,” he recounted.
Maina attributed the media frenzy and subsequent legal entanglements to the actions of a former government official. “I said, it is all Malami. Malami did it. They did it to make me look bad. They used the media against me,” he alleged. He also referenced his detention at Kuje Correctional Facility and his American citizenship, highlighting his frustration over what he perceives as unfair treatment.
The speech underscores Maina’s ongoing narrative that his legal challenges were politically motivated and not conducted in accordance with due process.
By recounting the sequence of events surrounding the medical trip and the alleged manipulation of media reports, Maina aims to draw attention to perceived injustices within Nigeria’s judicial and political systems, while highlighting the complex interplay between governance, accountability, and personal rights.
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