James Richard Nolan, a Briton, was given a bench warrant on Tuesday by Justice D U Okorowo of the Federal High Court in Abuja for skipping bail and failing to show up for trial.
Nolan is being tried on 16 counts of allegations related to money laundering. He is one of the directors of Goidel Resources Limited, a DNFI, and ICIL Limited, another business.
The judge decided to give the defense more time to produce the defendant on the next adjourned date after EFCC counsel G.C. Ofulue requested a bench warrant on the defendant on the previous adjourned date.
When the trial was resumed on Tuesday, the prosecution’s attorney once more asked the court to issue a bench warrant for the defendant and his surety to show cause as to why his properties shouldn’t be forfeited to the federal government after defense attorney Michael Ajara informed the court that his team was on the defendant’s trail.
Ajara, the Nigerian Police, the EFCC, and the surety himself are all working hard to get the defendant in front of the court, so he appealed with the judge not to dock the surety just yet.
After the defense attorney, Michael Ajara, informed the court that his team was on the defendant’s trail, the prosecution’s attorney again requested that the court issue a bench warrant requiring the defendant and his surety to demonstrate cause as to why their properties shouldn’t be forfeited to the federal government when the trial resumed on Tuesday.
He pleaded with the judge not to dock the surety just yet because Ajara, the Nigerian Police, the EFCC, and the surety himself are all working hard to get the defendant in front of the court.
