COURT REFUSES AJUDUA’S FRESH BAIL REQUEST IN $1M FRAUD TRIAL OVER PENDING SUPREME COURT MOTION

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By Aishat Momoh. O.

Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court, Ikeja, on Tuesday refused a fresh bail application filed by Fred Ajudua, who is standing trial for allegedly defrauding a Palestinian national, Zad Abu Zalaf, of $1,043,000 under false pretenses.

Delivering her ruling, Justice Dada said the court was “constrained to take any decision on the bail application due to a pending motion for review before the Supreme Court.” The court insisted it would abide by the apex court’s ruling before taking further action.

Ajudua’s counsel, Olalekan Ojo (SAN), had argued for fresh bail on medical grounds, noting the defendant suffers from chronic liver disease. Ajudua appeared in court with personnel from the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), who reportedly facilitated his presence in court against their standard practice.

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The prosecution, led by Seidu Atteh of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), opposed the application, urging the court to defer to the Supreme Court. Atteh also presented a counter-affidavit backed by the Supreme Court’s judgment, arguing that Ajudua should have directed the application to the apex court.

During the resumed trial, the EFCC called its third witness, Bashir Emmanuel, an operative of the Commission, who narrated how the case was transferred from the Nigeria Police Force to the EFCC in 2005. He detailed the investigation steps taken by the Commission, including visits to the Central Bank of Nigeria and the NNPC, as well as forensic analysis conducted in 2013.

However, defense counsel Ojo objected to the admissibility of some documents, arguing they were photocopies and not certified originals, and that the witness was not the author of key forensic documents. The court sustained his objections on two of the documents the CBN documents and forensic analysis but admitted two others as exhibits.

Ajudua’s trial, which began in 2005 and has been riddled with delays due to legal technicalities, was reassigned multiple times before being reactivated before Justice Dada in 2018. Following an earlier bail granted by the Court of Appeal, the EFCC challenged the ruling at the Supreme Court, which directed Justice Dada to continue with the trial.

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