Chief George Kadiri, the surety for fugitive British national James Nolan in the ongoing $9.6 billion Process and Industrial Development (P&ID) fraud case, was arrested and brought before the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday.
Kadiri, a traditional chief and retired civil servant residing in Gwagwalada, was presented before Justice Peter Lifu following a court order after repeated failures to appear in court as directed.
Nolan, a director in P&ID, had his ₦100 million bail revoked by Justice Ahmed Mohammed on September 28, 2022, after he failed to appear for trial. A bench warrant was issued for his arrest, and Kadiri was ordered to show cause why his bail bond should not be forfeited.
Kadiri had earlier filed a motion through his counsel, O.J. Aboge, seeking more time to appear in court. However, after the matter was reassigned to Justice Lifu, the surety stopped attending proceedings, prompting an arrest order.
At Thursday’s hearing, EFCC prosecutor Bala Sanga informed the court that Kadiri had been arrested and requested the forfeiture of the bail bond. Aboge, however, asked the court for time to present arguments against the forfeiture and requested bail for his client.
Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Paul Erokoro, who volunteered to stand as surety for Kadiri, told the court: “Chief Kadiri is a traditional leader in Gwagwalada and will not jump bail. I also stood surety for him at the EFCC.”
The EFCC did not oppose the bail or the request for an adjournment.
Justice Lifu granted the bail application, releasing Kadiri to Erokoro and adjourning the case to November 5 for further hearing on the bail bond forfeiture issue.
NAN reports that Nolan, alleged to be at large, is facing multiple fraud charges in connection with the controversial P&ID gas processing contract, and is named as the second defendant in suit number FHC/ABJ/CR/143/2020. He is also linked to at least eight other cases currently pending in court.
