$9.6bn P&ID fraud: Nigerian court orders arrest of UK citizen, James Nolan

James Nolan, a British citizen, has been placed under arrest by Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court in Abuja for failing to show up for his trial.

Along with Lurgi Consult Limited and other defendants, the Director of Process and Industrial Development Limited (P&ID) is on trial for allegedly laundering $9.6 billion.

Nolan violated the terms of the bail restrictions that the court granted him after an EFCC application, according to Justice Mohammed’s statement on Wednesday.

The surety was required to appear in court the next day to explain why the bail bond should not be forfeited when the judge cancelled it.

When it was revealed that Nolan wasn’t there, prosecution attorney Bala Sanga was about to start cross-examining Prosecuting Witness 1 Temitope Erinomo.

Sanga voiced surprise at the omission and added that Lurgi Consult, the first defendant, had never had legal representation in court since the case began.

According to the attorney, EFCC investigations revealed that the property in Gwagwalada, Abuja, that the surety surrendered was not worth N100,000,000.

Michael Ajara, the defence attorney, asserted that Nolan’s departure was odd because he consistently showed up for court appearances aside from the last occasion when he was ill.

“His medical report shows that he has bipolar, a history of mental illness; it is uncertain if the defendant is fine. We have notified the police, the prosecution, and efforts to ascertain his whereabouts have proven abortive.”

According to Justice Mohammed, the court only takes action when Ajara submits evidence.

“The second defendant is nowhere to be found and there is no justification with certainty of his whereabouts”, he said.

The court dismissed Nolan’s bail, seized the bond, and issued a bench warrant for his arrest in response to Sanga’s prayers.