Coalition Claims Maina On Hunger Strike

A group, West African Coalition for Social and Civil Rights has alleged that the former chairman of the Pension Reform Task Team AbdulRasheed Maina has embarked on an indefinite hunger strike at the Kuje Correctional centre, Abuja.

The coalition said Maina took the action to protest the refusal of the leadership of the correctional centre to comply with doctors’ directives to allow him full medical/surgical services.

In a statement issued by the group’s secretary-general Comrade Patrick Akinfemi, said Maina had been diagnosed with life-threatening ailments that require a series of surgeries and routine visits to the hospital.

He said several letters were written to the controller-general by Dr Folorunsho, Dr Dahilo, Dr Ojji and all the senior consultants at the University of Abuja Teaching Hospital emphasising the urgency of the situation but the doctors’ directives and advice were ignored.

Akinfemi said, “Investigation also revealed that four controllers of correctional service, who happened to be doctors also wrote to the CG’s office on the urgency of the situation but he directed Maina’s lawyers to meet with the staff at the headquarters of the correctional service, where the deputy controllers- general and other high ranking officers said that they knew that Maina’s situation was critical but that, their hands were tied.