AN Irishman wanted in Nigeria on charges of spying for Russia had a contract with the country’s ministry of defence for refurbishing tanks, writes Enda Leahy.

Michael Quinn, 65, one of two Irishmen named in the Nigerian courts as part of an alleged Russian spy ring, runs a company, Marshpearl, which the Nigerian government paid to maintain and upgrade 36 British-made Scorpion attack vehicles in 2001.

The other Irishman named in court documents, James Nolan, 40, was arrested along with a Romanian, an Israeli and three Nigerian defence ministry officials and charged with espionage. Last Wednesday, after all six pleaded not guilty to the charges, the court released them once bail conditions were met, including surrendering their passports and presenting their countries’ envoys in Nigeria “as guarantors”.

Quinn and Nikolai Salnikov, 51, from Russia, were also charged with “unlawfully obtaining and transmitting documents related to a protected place” in court papers filed two weeks ago. The pair are described as “still at large”. The “protected place” has not been named but is understood to be linked to Nigerian military production.

The five foreigners are accused of planning to pass information to the Russian defence attaché in Abuja. A Nigerian government official has said the information was related to the procurement of arms and ammunition.

Marshpearl is listed in the Irish companies registration office as carrying out “other business activities”, and was dissolved in 2000. But in 2001 the Nigerian government announced a contract with “Messrs Marshpearl of Ireland” to upgrade 36 tanks.

Two years later Marshpearl officials appeared at a public launch alongside General Theophilus Danjuma, the Nigerian defence minister, along with the army chief of staff and the finance minister, at an armour vehicles manufacturing plant in Bauchi. The government officials were accompanied on a tour of the facility by people from Marshpearl, who tested one of the Scorpion tanks for local media.

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