Abdulrasheed Maina, former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team (PRTT), has been admitted to a hospital in Abuja after collapsing near his office on Tuesday.
His media assistant, Emmanuel Nweke, confirmed the incident in a statement, saying Maina lost his balance while entering the office premises, fell on the staircase, and sustained a head injury before losing consciousness.
Nweke attributed the fall to complications linked to an untreated knee injury that Maina had reportedly been battling for some time.
“The incident occurred as a result of complications from an untreated knee injury, which caused him to lose balance and fall, leading to his head hitting the staircase,” the statement said.
According to the aide, medical personnel at the scene quickly administered first aid before Maina was rushed to a private hospital in Abuja for urgent medical care.
He disclosed that Maina is currently under close medical supervision and remains under observation.
“Following an initial medical assessment, one of the attending doctors advised that arrangements for an air ambulance medical evacuation should be considered if his condition fails to stabilise within a short period,” the statement added.
The family, alongside the medical team, is said to be closely monitoring his condition and has appealed to the public for prayers, understanding, and respect for privacy during this period.
Maina was recently released from Kuje Correctional Centre after serving a jail term for pension fraud.
In November 2021, the Federal High Court in Abuja convicted him on charges related to money laundering involving over ₦2 billion. He had been arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in October 2019 on a 12-count charge, to which he pleaded not guilty.
Delivering judgment, Justice Okon Abang held that Maina diverted more than ₦2 billion belonging to pensioners, many of whom, the court noted, died without benefiting from their entitlements.
The Court of Appeal, in May 2023, upheld his conviction and affirmed the eight-year prison sentence.
During proceedings at the trial court, Maina had on occasions appeared frail and was once wheeled into the courtroom by two prison wardens. In December 2020, he also reportedly collapsed during court proceedings, prompting the court to order a medical evaluation to determine his actual state of health.