Hopes for temporary freedom for embattled Lagos socialite and lawyer, Fred Ajudua, were dashed on Wednesday as Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja rejected his fresh bail application.
The court cited a pending motion for review before the Supreme Court of Nigeria, directly impacting the substantive issues of the long-running $1,043,000 fraud trial.
Ajudua is currently being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for allegedly defrauding Palestinian businessman, Zad Abu Zalaf.
This high-profile case has seen numerous delays and legal battles since it began in 2005.
In her ruling, Justice Dada pointed out the court's limitations, stating, “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 bail application, filed on July 22, 2025, was supported by a 12-paragraph affidavit and a written address from Ajudua’s counsel, Mr Olalekan Ojo, SAN.
The defence highlighted Ajudua's chronic liver disease and other pressing health challenges as primary grounds for granting bail.
However, the EFCC, represented by Mr Seidu Atteh, strongly opposed the application.
Through a counter-affidavit and attached exhibits, Atteh presented the Supreme Court’s previous ruling, which affirmed Justice Dada's authority to continue hearing the trial. Atteh contended that the bail issue should be resolved at the apex court, not at the trial court level.
Earlier in the week, 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 against releasing patients undergoing special treatment, special arrangements were made to ensure Ajudua’s attendance with a medical escort, underscoring the severity of his health condition.
During the ongoing trial, the third EFCC witness, operative Afanda Bashir Emmanuel, testified that the case was initially transferred to the EFCC by the Nigeria Police in 2005.
He detailed how forensic analysis and communications with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) led the Commission to discover documents allegedly linked to Ajudua, indicating fraudulent claims and payments.
The witness’s testimony faced strong objections from Mr Ojo, SAN, who challenged the admissibility of several documents, including forensic reports and CBN records.
Ojo argued that the EFCC operative was not the author of the forensic documents and that a proper foundation for their admission into evidence had not been laid.
In her subsequent ruling, Justice Dada admitted two of the four contested documents into evidence. She rejected the forensic report and CBN documents due to irregularities, while admitting the EFCC’s letter to NNPC and NNPC’s response as exhibits.
During cross-examination, Ojo reiterated the defence’s readiness to proceed with the trial and requested a short adjournment.
The case has been adjourned to October 10, October 31, and November 20, 2025, for continuation of the trial.
The fraud case, which originated in 2005 before Justice M.O. Obadina, has been protracted by various legal manoeuvres.
The matter was subsequently reassigned to Justices J.E. Oyefeso and then M.A. Dada, with Ajudua finally arraigned before Justice Dada in June 2018.
Justice Dada had initially denied him bail, a decision that was overturned by the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal on September 10, 2018.
However, the EFCC appealed to the Supreme Court, which ultimately reversed the appellate court's decision and ordered Justice Dada to resume the case, leading to the current proceedings.
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