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

Justice Ahmed Mohammed of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has ordered the arrest of a British national, James Nolan for failing to appear for trial.

The Director at Process and Industrial Development Limited (P&ID) is standing trial, alongside Lurgi Consult Limited and others, in $9.6billion money laundering charges.

On Wednesday, Justice Mohammed stated that Nolan broke the terms of bail conditions offered him by the court after an EFCC application.

The judge revoked it and ordered the surety to appear in court on the next date to justify why the bail bond should not be forfeited.

Prosecution counsel, Bala Sanga was set to proceed with the cross examination of Prosecuting Witness 1, Temitope Erinomo, when it was announced that Nolan was not present.

Sanga expressed dismay with the absence, adding that the first defendant, Lurgi Consult, has never been represented in court since the matter started.

The lawyer said EFCC investigations showed that the property surrendered by the surety in Gwagwalada, Abuja, was not worth N100million.

Defence counsel, Micheal Ajara claimed that Nolan’s disappearance was strange as he always appeared in court except for the last time when he was sick.

“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.”

Justice Mohammed stated that the court does not act in uncertainty except Ajara presents facts.

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