The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has urged Justice Okon Abang of the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja not to grant the application for a bail variation by a British national, James Nolan.

The commission’s lawyer, Bala Sanga, said the anti-graft agency would file a counter-affidavit to the Briton’s application for bail variation.

Sanga explained that Nolan’s lawyer, Chris Ezugwu, had served him the affidavit seeking the court’s leave to grant their request less than 24 hours before court proceeding.

“I apply for a shift in the date to take our arguments, My lord, in order to enable us to file a counter-affidavit in response to further affidavit served on us less than 24 hours before the court sitting.

“We were served about 2 p.m yesterday (Wednesday),” he said.

The prosecution counsel prayed the court to give him some days to file his counter-affidavit on Nolan’s request.

The defendant’s lawyer, Ezugwu, who acknowledged serving the fresh application on Sanga the previous day, objected to the EFCC’s plea for an adjournment.

Justice Abang adjourned proceeding till December 6 for further hearing of the application.

The judge said the move became necessary in the interest of justice.

“I think it is in the interest of justice to adjourn this matter to enable the prosecution respond to further affidavit serve on them by the defendant’s counsel,” he held.

Shortly after the court sitting, Sanga told News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) that the commission was against Nolan’s plea for bail variation because of the peculiar circumstances of the case.

According to him, the EFCC was opposed to the court making the conditions of bail lighter because there are some documents from Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) that showed Nolan committed immigration quota trafficking and possibly could be an illegal alien.

The EFCC’s lawyer stressed that if granted the request, Nolan might jump bail.

Justice Abang, on November 7, admitted Nolan to bail for N500m.

The judge, who granted the bail in an application filed by the Briton, ordered that the applicant must produce a surety in like sum. He added that the surety must be a Nigerian and a serving senator not standing any criminal trial in any court in Nigeria.

Besides, he held that the proposed 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 Federal Capital Development Authority (FCDA).

“The surety must submit two passport photographs,” Justice Abang had ruled.

Likewise, the court 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.

The EFCC had, on Oct. 21, arraigned Nolan and Adam Quinn (at large), both British nationals, over their alleged complicity in the 9.6 billion dollars 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 British nationals 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.