The Federal High Court, Abuja, yesterday dismissed the application for bail variation filed by a Briton, James Nolan.
Justice Okon Abang, who dismissed the prayer, said the application was lacking in merit and adjourned the case till today for continuation of trial.
He gave the ruling after he had taken the arguments of the prosecution and defence counsel.
The judge wondered why Nolan could not respond to the serious allegation levelled against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that he forged a resident permit and that if granted bail he might escape.
According to Abang, he took a risk in admitting Nolan to bail.
Abang had earlier fixed December 6 for hearing on the bail variation but adjourned till December 9. He had, on November 7, granted Nolan bail in the sum of N500 million.
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The judge, who granted the bail in an application filed by Nolan, ordered that the applicant must produce a surety in like sum, who must be a Nigerian and a serving senator, not standing any criminal trial in any court in Nigeria.
Besides, he held that the surety must submit a three-year tax clearance certificate and sign an undertaking to always be present in court with the defendant throughout the duration of the trial.
“The senator must have a landed property fully developed in Maitama District of Abuja and fully certified by the FCDA. The surety must submit two passport photographs,” Abang ruled.
The court also ordered the defendant to surrender all his international passports, even as it mandated the Nigerian Immigration Service to confirm how many passports that were issued to him within the past 20 years.
EFCC had, on October 21, arraigned Nolan and Adam Quinn (at large), both British nationals, over their alleged complicity in the $9.6 billion judgment against Nigeria.
Process and Industrial Development (P&ID), an Irish engineering company, had secured the award against Nigeria following the non-execution of a 20-year gas and supply processing agreement (GSPA) the company had with the Federal Government.
The arraignment of the two Britons is coming weeks after two P&ID directors were convicted over the deal.
The defendants, both directors of Goidel Resources Limited, a designated non-financial institution and ICIL Limited, were arraigned on a 16-count charge bordering on money laundering.