The Court of Appeal sitting in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on Thursday upheld the conviction of Faisal, the son of Abdulrasheed Maina, for conspiracy and money laundering.
Faisal’s father, Maina who happens to be the former chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Taskforce Team, is serving an eight-year jail term at Kuje Prison, Abuja.
Maina was accused of pension fraud to the tune of N2 billion, while Faisal was named an accomplice.
A three-member panel of the appeal court in a judgement on Thursday reduced the term of imprisonment from 14 years to seven years on the grounds that he (Faisal) is a first-time offender.
Justice Ugochukwu Anthony Ogakwu in the judgement on Thursday held that Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court, Abuja was right to have convicted Faisal.
The judge, however, stated that Faisal should not have been handed 14 years imprisonment because he is a first-time offender.
He said, “But as a first-time offender, the trial court ought not to have handed the convict the maximum punishment under the law.”
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