Former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reformed Taskforce Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, has on Thursday, collapsed in the dock during the resumed hearing in his N2bn money laundering trial at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The Thursday’s sitting was scheduled for the hearing of the defendant’s no-case submission, following the close of the prosecution’s case with nine witnesses earlier on Wednesday.
The former pension boss collapsed at exactly 10:05 am when his counsel, Anayo Adibe was making submissions before Justice Okon Abang handling his trial.
Before the collapse of the former pension boss, his counsel was praying the court for an adjournment to enable him to get records of the proceedings of the court to enable him to prepare for the no-case submission he intends to file on behalf of his client.
The court had to rise abruptly to enable officials of the Correctional Service and relations of the former pension boss to attend to him.
The matter was on Wednesday adjourned till today, December 10, 2020, for the defendant to argue his no-case submission and for the prosecution to respond to the same orally.
The defence lawyer, Anayo Adibe, was briefing the judge, Justice Okon Abang, that his team had yet to receive the records of proceedings requested from the court’s registry when a loud thud of Maina’s fall drew attention to the dock.
Prison officials immediately rushed to him to attend to him.
Justice Abang said the court would rise for about five minutes.
More to come.
Watch a video of the incident below;
Ex-boss of the Presidential Reform Pension Task Team, Abdulrashed Maina, Thursday collapses in court.
More details shortly @ https://t.co/QiIq0x4NU0 pic.twitter.com/KgUZERMzS1
— solomonislandsblog (@solomonislands3) December 10, 2020
