Earlier, however, she had tried to convince a Nigerian court that she was the rightful owner of some of the 23 properties that authorities accused Maina of acquiring with pension fund money. In an 2019 affidavit filed in a Nigerian court, Laila stated that she bought the Nigerian properties with the proceeds of her business of exporting African fabrics to the U.S., although she did not provide any evidence of money generated from the business. Eventually, at least 20 properties were forfeited to the Nigerian government in a final court ruling in 2024. Maina bought that property for $215,000 in Frankfort, Kentucky, in August 2010. Nigerian media have closely covered the twists and turns of Maina’s case, including how he fled Nigeria to Dubai in 2013 to evade arrest.