Former Chairman of the defunct Pension Reform Task Force, Abdulrasheed Maina, has been hospitalised in Abuja after he reportedly collapsed on Tuesday while trying to access his office.
The incident was disclosed in a statement issued on Wednesday by his media assistant, Emmanuel Ekwe, who said the collapse was caused by complications arising from an untreated knee injury.
According to Ekwe, the injury caused Maina to lose his balance, leading to a fall in which he hit his head on a staircase.
“Dr Abdulrasheed Maina slumped on the evening of Tuesday, February 3, 2026, while attempting to access his office premises. The incident followed complications from an untreated knee injury, which caused him to lose balance and fall, resulting in his head hitting the staircase,” the statement said.
He added that medical personnel immediately administered first aid before rushing Maina to a private hospital in Abuja for urgent treatment.
Ekwe noted that Maina is currently under close medical observation, with doctors monitoring his condition.
“Following a preliminary medical assessment, one of the attending doctors advised that arrangements for an air ambulance medical evacuation be considered should his condition fail to stabilise within a short period,” he said.
The family, according to the statement, has appealed for privacy and prayers as treatment continues, adding that further updates would be communicated as necessary.
Maina is a central figure in Nigeria’s pension reform controversy, having headed the Presidential Task Force on Pension Reforms before being prosecuted over allegations of large-scale pension fraud.
In November 2021, a Federal High Court in Abuja convicted him of money laundering involving N2.1bn in pension funds and sentenced him to eight years’ imprisonment.
The Court of Appeal upheld the conviction and sentence in May 2023.
Despite the ruling, Maina was released from the Kuje Correctional Centre in February 2025 after benefiting from statutory remission for good conduct, with authorities explaining that his sentence was calculated from his initial arrest in October 2019.
Since his release, he has largely stayed out of public view, though developments surrounding him continue to attract public attention due to the magnitude of the pension scandal.
