“Case Proceeds Without Nolan” – Fugitive P&ID Director’s Lawyer Declines To Call Witnesses
The British national, Mr. James Nolan, who jumped bail in the ongoing trial related to the alleged $9.6 billion Process and Industrial Development (P&ID) Ltd scandal, stated on Thursday that he does not intend to call any witnesses.
Nolan conveyed this through his lawyer, Michael Ajara, before Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), in a 20-count charge, named Micad Project City Services Limited and Nolan as the 1st and 2nd defendants in the money laundering offences.
Nolan and Micad Project, a company where he is a director, were arraigned in May 2022. The duo pleaded not guilty, and Nolan, who is also a director in P&ID Ltd, was remanded at Kuje Correctional Centre.
After meeting his bail conditions of ₦100 million with a surety, following the variation of the initial ₦500 million bail, Nolan stopped attending court proceedings and fled Nigeria.
He was subsequently declared wanted by the court, which issued an order for his arrest wherever sighted. The EFCC lawyer, Bala Sanga, applied for Nolan to be tried in absentia, and the request was granted.
Although NAN reported that the fleeing Briton was arrested by the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL) in Italy on Jan. 27, 2024, during a visit to his wife, he is yet to be extradited back to Nigeria to face trial.
When the matter was called on Thursday, Sanga informed the court that while the prosecution had initially planned to call their last witness, they decided it was unnecessary and would not proceed with it.
Nolan’s counsel, Ajara, did not object to this decision. He further stated that, after evaluating the EFCC’s evidence, the defense would rely solely on the prosecution’s case.
“Based on the evidence already before the court, adduced by the prosecution, we shall be resting our case on theirs. So, we don’t intend to call any witnesses,” he told the court.
Justice Egwuatu adjourned the matter to March 10 for the adoption of final written addresses by both parties.
NAN recalls that a sister court presided over by Justice Donatus Okorowo, on July 3, 2024, ordered the closure of two companies linked to Nolan due to their involvement in the P&ID Ltd fraud.
Justice Okorowo, who has since been elevated to the Court of Appeal, found the companies guilty of money laundering offences. Consequently, the court ordered the winding up of Trinity Biotech Nigeria Limited and Resorts Express Concept Nigeria Ltd, with their assets forfeited to the federal government.