Court gavel
A retired civil servant and traditional chief from Gwagwalada, Abuja, Chief George Kadiri, who served as surety for British national James Nolan in the $9.6 billion Process and Industrial Development (P&ID) fraud case, was arrested and presented before Justice Peter Lifu at the Federal High Court on Thursday.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), Kadiri had previously, on November 4, 2022, requested additional time to appear in court to explain why his N100 million bail bond should not be forfeited.
This request was made through a motion filed by his lawyer, O.J. Aboge, before Justice Ahmed Mohammed, who has since been elevated to the Court of Appeal.
On September 28, 2022, Justice Mohammed revoked Nolan’s N100 million bail due to his failure to attend trial. Nolan, a director at P&ID, is a central figure in the alleged $9.6 billion fraud. The judge issued a bench warrant for Nolan’s arrest, directing security agencies, including Interpol, to apprehend him within or outside Nigeria for trial. Kadiri was also ordered to appear in court to justify why his bail bond should not be forfeited, following an application by EFCC lawyer Bala Sanga, who stated that Nolan had absconded.
After the case was reassigned to Justice Lifu, Kadiri failed to appear in court, leading to an arrest order. On Thursday, Sanga informed the court that the EFCC had brought Kadiri in compliance with the order. “This charge here is different. I humbly apply for the bail bond to be forfeited,” Sanga said.
O.J. Aboge, Kadiri’s lawyer, requested an adjournment to address the forfeiture of the N100 million bail bond, noting similarities with a case before Justice Egwuatu. “I want to produce arguments on the various points raised before the court,” Aboge stated, while also seeking bail for Kadiri.
Paul Erokoro, SAN, representing the defendants, supported the bail request, vouching for Kadiri’s reliability. “Chief Kadiri, the surety, is a traditional chief in Gwagwalada. He will not run away. I stood surety for him at EFCC. This is my first time taking someone on bail,” Erokoro pleaded.
Sanga did not oppose the bail request or the adjournment. Justice Lifu adjourned the matter to November 5 for further proceedings on the bail bond forfeiture. “Meanwhile, the surety, Chief Kadiri, is herein released to Chief Paul Erokoro, SAN, on bail to be produced in court until this issue of forfeiture of bail bond is resolved or determined by the court,” the judge ruled.
NAN reports that the EFCC arraigned Nolan and Lurgi Consult Limited on August 18, 2020, in a case marked FHC/ABJ/CR/143/2020. Nolan, who remains at large, faces charges in approximately eight other cases related to the controversial $9.6 billion P&ID contract, including FHC/ABJ/CR/144/2020, FHC/ABJ/CR/145/2020, FHC/ABJ/CR/146/2020, FHC/ABJ/CR/147/2020, and FHC/ABJ/CR/148/2020, all listed before Justice Lifu on Thursday.
