$9.6bn P&ID fraud: Court convicts fugitive Briton Nolan in absentia
By Ikechukwu Nnochiri
The Federal High Court in Abuja, on Monday, convicted a British citizen, James Nolan, for his role in the controversial gas supply contract scam that led to a $9.6 billion judgment against Nigeria.
Nolan, identified as a signatory to accounts of Process & Industrial Developments Limited (P&ID) Nigeria and the In-Country Support Manager of P&ID Virgin Islands—firms involved in the alleged contract scam—was convicted in absentia.
He escaped from the country shortly after his release on bail, prompting the court to issue a bench warrant for his arrest.
The court, in a judgment delivered by Justice Obiora Egwuatu, found him guilty alongside his co-defendant, Micad Project City Services Limited.
The duo were prosecuted on a 20-count charge marked FHC/ABJ/CR/9/2022, which the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) preferred against them.
The charge bordered on money laundering, forgery and obtaining by false pretence.
The anti-graft agency produced six witnesses who testified against the defendants, even as it tendered several documents in evidence before the court.
Counsel to the defendants, Michael Ajara, had, after the EFCC closed its case, told the court that he would rest the defence on the evidence of the prosecution.
Following the failure of the defendants to enter their defence to the charge, the court proceeded to judgment.
Delivering the verdict on Monday, Justice Egwuatu convicted Nolan on all the counts in the charge, except count 13.
However, the court held that since Nolan is still at large, he would be sentenced upon his arrest and production by the International Criminal Police Organisation (INTERPOL).
The court equally convicted the company, Micad Project City Services Ltd, on counts 1, 3, 5, 7, 9 and 11 of the charge.
Justice Egwuatu said he was satisfied that the prosecution called credible witnesses and tendered documentary evidence to establish its case against the defendants.
He struck out count 13 on the premise that the alleged offence predated the Money Laundering Prohibition Act, 2011.
He found the defendants guilty of forgery after upholding the argument of the prosecution counsel, Bala Sanga, who dismissed the claim that a former director in Micad Ltd, Lloyd Quinn, signed documents that came into existence about three years after his death.
Justice Egwuatu held that Quinn, who died in 2014, could not have signed the documents in 2017.
The fleeing Briton was convicted in absentia in accordance with Section 352(4) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA), 2015.
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