A British national whose name has been given as James Nolan, who reportedly jumped bail in 2022 in a $9.6 billion P&ID fraud in Nigeria has finally been arrested by INTERPOL, Africa Today News, New York has learnt.
Nolan who used to be a Director of the Process and Industrial Development Ltd, was arrested by International Criminal Police Organisation on January 27 while on visit to his wife who is an Italian.
Nolan is a key figure in the controversial Gas Supply Processing Agreement which was signed in 2010.
He was initially granted bail in the sum of N500 million following his arraignment at a Federal High Court in Abuja in November 2019 where he pleaded not guilty to the charges against him.
However, due to his inability to meet the bail conditions, the bail amount was later reduced to N100 million.
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After perfecting his bail conditions, however, he failed to appear in court for trial since 2022.
His bail was revoked in September 28, 2022, by another court where he was also facing legal proceedings.
Justice Ahmed Mohammed had at the time issued a bench warrant for his arrest due to bail violation.
Justice Mohammed ordered security agencies, including INTERPOL, to arrest him anywhere he was sighted within or outside Nigeria and be produced in court to stand trial.
The order by the judge followed an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) lawyer to that effect.
In another report, no fewer than 14,000 people have been arrested and at least 8,000 weapons seized following an anti-firearms operation across Central and South America, Interpol revealed on Wednesday morning.
Africa Today News, New York gathered that the raids swept up over 200 tonnes of cocaine and other drugs and weapons worth $5.7 billion, as well as 370 tonnes of drug precursors (chemical ingredients), the France-based police cooperation body said in a statement.
Described as ‘Trigger IX’, it was ‘the biggest firearms operation ever coordinated by Interpol,’ it added.
‘The fact that an operation targeting illicit firearms resulted in such massive drugs seizures is further proof, if needed, that these crimes are intertwined,’ Interpol chief Juergen Stock said in the statement.
Beyond the people arrested and guns seized, police and other authorities also laid their hands on 305,000 rounds of ammunition.