A former chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Team, Abdulrasheed Maina, has opened his defence in a case of alleged money laundering preferred against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

Maina opened his defence by presenting a witness, Ngozika Ihuoma, a consultant whose firm between 2010 and 2011 carried out the biometric verification of pensioners in the country.

The witness told the court that prior to the biometric capture, the sum of ₦1.5billion was paid monthly as police pension but upon completion of the exercise, the pension payments dropped to 4 ₦66million.

Ihuoma further informed the court that the PRTT headed by Maina had on November 2011 recovered the sum of ₦181billion in pension fund surplus which was subsequently warehoused at the Central Bank of Nigeria by the EFCC..

After listening to the evidence of Ihuoma, the trial judge, Justice Okon Abang adjourned further trial to March 2 to enable the witness to conclude his testimony.

Maina and a firm, Common Input Ltd are standing trial on a 12-count charge bordering on money laundering to the tune of two billion Naira.