Alleged fraud: Court denies Ajudua’s fresh bail application

Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja on Wednesday refused a fresh bail application filed by embattled Lagos socialite and lawyer, Fred Ajudua, in the ongoing trial over an alleged $1,043,000 fraud.

Ajudua is facing prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for allegedly defrauding a Palestinian businessman, Zad Abu Zalaf, under false pretences in a case that has lingered since 2005.

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In her ruling, Justice Dada said the court was constrained to grant bail to the defendant given a pending motion for review before the Supreme Court of Nigeria, which touches on the substantive issues in the case.

“Considering the applications filed at the Supreme Court, I am constrained to take any decision in respect of this instant application as elicited by defence counsel.

“I will abide by the decisions of the Supreme Court,” the judge ruled.

The bail application, dated and filed on July 22, 2025, was supported by a 12-paragraph affidavit and written address by Ajudua’s counsel, Mr Olalekan Ojo, SAN.

The defence cited the defendant’s chronic liver disease and health challenges as grounds for granting bail.

However, the EFCC, through its counsel, Mr Seidu Atteh, opposed the application with a counter-affidavit and attached exhibits, including the Supreme Court’s ruling, which affirmed that Justice Dada should continue hearing the trial.

Atteh argued that the bail issue should be addressed at the apex court, not the trial court.

Earlier, during Monday’s proceedings, Ajudua appeared in court accompanied by medical personnel from the Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LUTH).

His lawyer explained that despite LUTH’s internal policy of not releasing patients under special treatment, arrangements were made for the defendant to attend with a medical escort.

During the trial, EFCC witness and operative, PW3, Afanda Bashir Emmanuel, testified that the case was originally transferred to the EFCC by the Nigeria Police in 2005.

He said that following forensic analysis and communication with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), the Commission found documents allegedly linked to the defendant, indicating fraudulent claims and payments.

The witness, however, faced objections from Ojo (SAN), who challenged the admissibility of certain documents, including forensic reports and CBN records, on the grounds of certification and authorship.

Ojo contended that the EFCC operative was not the author of the forensic documents and that no proper foundation had been laid for their admission.

In her ruling, Justice Dada admitted two of the four contested documents into evidence, rejecting the forensic report and CBN documents due to irregularities.

She admitted as exhibits the EFCC’s letter to NNPC and NNPC’s response.

Cross-examining the witness, Ojo reiterated the defence’s readiness to proceed with the trial and applied for a short adjournment.

The matter was subsequently adjourned to October 10, October 31, and November 20, 2025, for continuation of the trial.

The fraud case, which began in 2005 before Justice M.O. Obadina, has been plagued by protracted delays due to legal manoeuvring.

The matter was later reassigned to Justices J.E. Oyefeso and then M.A. Dada. Ajudua was eventually arraigned before Justice Dada in June 2018.

Justice Dada had initially denied him bail, prompting an appeal to the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal, which granted bail on September 10, 2018.

The EFCC then appealed to the Supreme Court, which reversed the appellate court’s decision and ordered Justice Dada to resume the case.