The Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) has publicly disavowed the recent appointment of convicted pension fraudster Abdulrasheed Maina as a patron of its Garki, Abuja branch, labeling the act as “reprehensible” and a “mockery of the legal profession.”
The national leadership has ordered an immediate disciplinary probe into the branch executives responsible for the controversial honour.
The strong condemnation follows Spear News Nigeria report that detailed how the Garki branch, under its Chairman Anthony Ojo, presented Maina with a “Rule of Law and Courage Award” at an event on Thursday. Photographs from the event showed Maina adorned with a muffler inscribed with ‘Patron, NBA Garki Branch.’
In a swift and unequivocal statement released Friday, NBA President Mazi Osigwe dissociated the entire association from the appointment.
“The purported appointment not only paints the legal profession and the NBA in a bad light but also makes a mockery of the government’s fight against corruption, as well as the association’s motto of promoting the rule of law,” Osigwe stated.
The statement announced that disciplinary proceedings have been initiated against Branch Chairman Anthony Ojo and any other members involved in the decision. The NBA president warned that the Bar fails in its duty to society “when it condones, encourages, and or fails to take definite actions to eliminate corruption and corrupt practices.”
Maina’s Claims and a History of Fraud
At the event that sparked the outrage, Maina used the platform to call for a renewed investigation into former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, alleging that powerful forces in the previous administration orchestrated his legal troubles.
These claims stand in stark contrast to the judicial record. Abdulrasheed Maina, the former chairman of the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms, was convicted for stealing over ₦2 billion meant for the nation’s elderly pensioners. His elaborate fraud involved using fictitious names and recruiting family members to operate bank accounts through which the funds were siphoned.
After fleeing Nigeria in 2013, he was declared wanted, eventually arrested, and extradited from Niger Republic. In November 2021, Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court sentenced him to years in prison for money laundering, a conviction that cemented his status as a symbol of brazen corruption.
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