Chief George Kadiri, who stood as surety for a British national, James Nolan, involved in the $9.6 billion P&ID fraud case, has been arrested and taken to court.
Kadiri, a retired civil servant and traditional chief from Gwagwalada, was brought before Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s lawyer, Bala Sanga, told the court that Kadiri was arrested based on a court order.
“This charge here is different. I humbly apply for the bail bond to be forfeited,” Sanga said, referring to the N100 million bail bond tied to Kadiri.
Kadiri had earlier failed to appear in court after Justice Ahmed Mohammed revoked Nolan’s bail in 2022 and issued a bench warrant for Nolan’s arrest. The court had asked Kadiri to show why his bail bond should not be forfeited after Nolan jumped bail.
Kadiri’s lawyer, O.J. Aboge, asked the court for time to present arguments against the forfeiture of the bond.
“The cases before Justice Egwuatu and the one here are the same. I want to produce arguments on the various points raised before the court,” Aboge said. He also asked that Kadiri be released on bail.
Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Paul Erokoro, who represented the defendant, agreed to take Kadiri on bail.
“Chief Kadiri, the surety, is a traditional chief in Gwagwalada. He will not run away. I stood surety for him at EFCC,” Erokoro said.
The EFCC lawyer did not object to the bail request or the request for an adjournment.
Justice Lifu then adjourned the case to November 5 for further proceedings and a hearing 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; I so ruled,” the judge said.
The EFCC had first arraigned Nolan in August 2020 alongside Lurgi Consult Limited in the fraud case marked FHC/ABJ/CR/143/2020. Nolan, who is currently at large, is also facing about eight other cases linked to the P&ID contract scandal.
