Mr Umar Babangida, an Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) investigator, on Tuesday, detailed how top government officials supported directors of Process and Industrial Development (P&ID) Limited in the alleged $9.6 billion scam against Nigeria.
According to the News Agency of Nigeria, Babangida, the second prosecution witness (PW2) in the current trial of James Nolan, an Irish national, told Justice Obiora Egwuatu of the Federal High Court in Abuja during his testimony.
The commission had in the charge marked: FHC/ABJ/CR/9/2022, sued Micad Project City Services Ltd. and Mr Nolan as 1st and 2nd defendants.
British-born P&ID director Nolan was granted N100 million bail after pleading not guilty to 20 counts. However, he failed to appear in court, leading to his bail being revoked. Justice Ahmed Mohammed issued a bench warrant for his arrest and allowed the EFCC to continue his trial in absentia.
While being led in evidence-in-chief by EFCC’s counsel, Bala Sanga before Justice Okorowo, the witness said former President Muhammadu Buhari directed that an investigation be conducted by the commission into the signing of a gas supply and processing agreement between the Federal Ministry of Petroleum Resources and P&ID Ltd. dated January 11, 2010.
“On June 28, 2018, a letter from the Office of the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice was forwarded to EFCC conveying the directives of Mr President, Commander-In-Chief of the Armed Forces, Federal Republic of Nigeria, that investigation be conducted by the EFCC.
“The petition was assigned to my team and I, including Isah Suleiman Daku, Aminu Lawal, Hembafan Tortilla, and others,” he was quoted by NAN as saying.
“Upon receipt of the documents, which include copy of the signed gas supply and processing agreement dated Jan. 11, 2010; memorandum of understanding dated July 22, 2009; memos and other correspondence, we reviewed the documents.
The investigation revealed that the gas supply and processing agreement was signed by Dr. Rilwan Lukman, witnessed by Mrs Grace Taiga, and by Michael Quinn, an Irish citizen, and Alhaji Muhammed Kuchazi, the owner and operator of P&ID Ltd.
He added: “We further discovered that they have incorporated about 30 companies registered by the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) in Nigeria.
“They also registered 20 offshore companies which they promote and operate.
“Among the 30 companies registered in Nigeria is Micad Project City Services Ltd, the 1st defendant and their representatives in Nigeria.”
Micad Project City Services Ltd is run by Irish citizens James Richard Nolan, Adam Quinn, Lloyd Quinn, Neil Christopher Murray, and Gerry Gallagher. The company was incorporated in 2005 with two shareholders and directors, James Nolan and Adam Quinn, each holding 50% equity.
He said he requested the incorporation document from the CAC, which revealed the company was incorporated in 2005.
He said in March 2007, Nolan resigned as a director of Micad Project and relinquished his shares back to the company, and Lloyd Quinn and Gerry Gallagher were appointed the company directors.
“In April 2007, Adam Quinn also resigned as director of the company and relinquished his shares back to the company leaving Lloyd Quinn and Gerry Gallagher as directors.
“Lloyd Quinn had 99 per cent equity while Gerry Gallagher had 1 per cent equity of the company,” he said.
The witness said his team wrote to Guarantee Trust Bank (GTB) requesting the account opening package and statement of account of Micad Project and discovered Lloyd Quinn was the sole signatory to the company’s account.
The EFCC investigator claimed that Micad Project City Services Ltd. had an account with Diamond Access Bank, previously Diamond Bank. James Nolan resigned as director and shareholder in 2007 and was a signatory to the Access Bank account.
He said after further review of the statement of account domicile with Access Bank Plc, the team discovered that the Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA) paid over N151 million into the account on May 22, 2017.
“We also discovered a payment from the account of a single transaction of N50 million to Avory Chambers dated 24th of May, 2017,” he added.
He said the team confirmed through the Special Control Unit against Money Laundering (SCUML) that the company failed to comply with the provisions that the Money Laundering and Prohibition Act, 2011 (as amended).
The witness said the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), in the course of their investigation, revealed that the company failed to comply with the tax law.
He added that Micad Project had a tax liability of over N39 million, and failed to pay between 2008, 2009, and 2010. The company also failed to pay N151 million and received records of terms of settlement from the Federal Capital Territory Administration.
Babangida said all the documents relating to the investigation were forwarded to the EFCC Forensic Department for forensic analysis.
He said the forensic expert would be in a better position to tell the court of his findings.
Earlier, Mr Temitope Erinomo, the 2nd prosecution witness and former Principal Complaint Officer, Federal Ministry of Trade and Investment, said that the ministry carried out off-site and on-site examinations of Micad Project City Services Ltd.
Erinomo, who said this during a cross-examination by the defence lawyer, Mr Michael Ajara, revealed that the off-site and on-site examinations “were carried out at the business addresses of the company but they were not present at the two addresses in Abuja and Lagos.”
“In my testimony, I said that we received a letter from the EFCC seeking to know the compliant status of Micad Project with the Money Laundering and Prohibition Act and to also furnish them with other information that will be relevant to the investigation that EFCC is carrying out,” he told the court.
Justice Egwuatu adjourned the matter until Wednesday for the continuation of the trial.
In October 2023, a United Kingdom court ruled against P&ID Limited in a London court.
The judgment was delivered after five years of legal frameworks which finally favoured Nigeria, as the court quashed the $11.5 billion arbitration award in favour of P&ID.
Judge Robin Knowles of the Business and Property Court in London, the Justice of the Commercial Courts of England and Wales, upheld Nigeria’s prayer on the ground that the ill-fated gas processing contract was obtained by fraud.
Also in December 2023, a London court gave Nigeria a final victory as it refused to grant an application by P&ID seeking to appeal the judgment halting the enforcement of its billion-dollar award against Nigeria.
The court in the judgment delivered by the presiding judge, Robin Knowles, ruled that the award against Nigeria should be thrown out immediately.