$1.43M FRAUD: EFCC ARRESTS FRED AJUDUA AFTER SUPREME COURT REVOKES BAIL
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By: Motunrayo Aniwura
Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have arrested Lagos socialite and businessman Fred Ajudua in Abuja, following a Supreme Court decision revoking his bail.
Ajudua is currently on trial for allegedly defrauding a Palestinian businessman, Zad Abu Zalaf, of $1,043,000. He was apprehended by EFCC officials on Tuesday and remains in the agency’s custody.
A senior EFCC official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to lack of clearance to address the media, confirmed the arrest to our correspondent.
“We have arrested Ajudua pending his re-arraignment in court. He was arrested in Abuja on Tuesday and he’s in our custody as we speak,” the source said.
The EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, declined to comment on the arrest.
The Supreme Court, in a ruling delivered on Friday, May 5, 2025, ordered Ajudua’s remand in a correctional facility and revoked the bail earlier granted him by the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal on September 10, 2018.
The case against Ajudua dates back to 2005 and has suffered multiple delays due to reassignments between judges. Initially assigned to Justice Morenike Obadina of the Lagos High Court, the case was later moved to Justices Josephine Oyefeso and then Mojisola Dada.
At the arraignment in June 2018 before Justice Dada, Ajudua was denied bail due to the protracted history of the case.
The Appeal Court later overturned that decision, granting him bail — a decision the EFCC challenged at the Supreme Court.
In its judgment, the apex court upheld the EFCC’s appeal, ordering that the original ruling denying bail be reinstated. It also directed the Chief Judge of Lagos State to reassign the case back to Justice Dada to proceed with the trial.
Ajudua is expected to be re-arraigned soon as the case resumes.
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