![Suspected serial fraudster, Fred Ajudua. [Photo credit: PM News Nigeria]](https://i0.wp.com/media.premiumtimesng.com/wp-content/files/2018/02/Fred-Ajudua.jpg?fit=512%2C361&ssl=1)
The Special Offences Division of the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja has refused a fresh bail application filed by embattled former socialite Fred Ajudua, who is standing trial for allegedly defrauding a Palestinian national of over $1 million under false pretences.
The judge, Mojisola Dada, ruling on Wednesday, said she was constrained to grant the application due to pending appeals before the Supreme Court.
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The judge said she would await the Supreme Court’s decision.
“In view of the applications filed at the Supreme Court, I am constrained to make any decision with respect to this instant application filed by the defence counsel. I will abide by the decisions of the Supreme Court,” she ruled.
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Ms Dada adjourned further proceedings to 10 and 31 October and 20 November for continuation of trial.
Mr Ajudua’s lawyer, Olalekan Ojo, who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), had urged the court to release his client from custody on medical grounds.
He told the court that Mr Ajudua, who was brought to court by medical personnel from the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), is battling chronic kidney disease.
“Only the living can stand trial,” Mr Ojo submitted, insisting that his client’s deteriorating health required urgent attention outside detention.
But lawyer to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Seidu Atteh, opposed the application, arguing that Mr Ajudua was already seeking reliefs before the Supreme Court and ought to have channelled his bail request there.
Mr Ojo countered, saying the application before the Supreme Court was unrelated to the current bail request and did not concern his client’s custodial status.
The court gave revoked the bail after upholding the EFCC’s challenge of two appellate decisions: one that granted Ajudua bail and another that reassigned the case to a new judge for a fresh trial.
The Supreme Court ordered that proceedings continue without further delay.
Third prosecution testifies
Before the bail ruling on Wednesday, the court heard testimony from the EFCC’s third prosecution witness, Afanda Emmanuel, an investigator.
Mr Emmanuel told the court that Mr Ajudua’s case was transferred from the Nigeria Police Force’s Special Fraud Unit (SFU) to the EFCC’s Advance Fee Fraud Section in 2005, shortly after the Commission’s establishment.
He said that during investigations, the EFCC wrote to several institutions—including the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), and the Commission’s own forensic lab—for relevant documents.
The defence challenged the EFCC’s move to tender certain documents in court, arguing that the materials were neither originals nor certified true copies.
Mr Ojo said the prosecution failed to lay the proper foundation for admissibility, since the EFCC’s counsel was not the originator of the documents.
After hearing arguments, Ms Dada admitted two of the documents as exhibits and rejected the others. The case was adjourned to enable the defence to cross-examine the witness.
Background
Mr Ajudua is facing 12 counts of conspiracy to obtain money by false pretence, forgery, and uttering forged documents.
He was accused of defrauding Zad Abu Zalaf, a Palestinian national, of $1,043,000 in 1993.
The EFCC alleged that Mr Ajudua and a co-defendant, Joseph Ochunor (still at large), forged documents purportedly issued by the CBN and NNPCL to lend credibility to the scam.
According to investigators, the duo received $268,000 on April 2, 1993, and an additional $225,000 on May 12, 1993, from Zalaf.
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The commission also presented testimony from German businessman Michael Kreamer, who said he handed Zalaf $550,000 in 1993 based on representations made by Mr Ajudua.
Mr Kreamer testified that Mr Ajudua appeared credible after a meeting in an office filled with luxury cars and men in uniform, but later realised he had been scammed.
History of delays
Originally filed in 2005 before another judge, Morenike Obadina, the case stalled for years due to Mr Ajudua’s repeated failure to appear in court—at least 24 times between 2005 and 2009.
The matter was struck out in 2009, reinstated in 2017, and reassigned to several judges before finally returning to Ms Dada in 2018.
Mr Ajudua had previously secured bail on medical grounds in another matter before another judge Josephine Oyefeso.
His lawyer, Norrison Quakers (SAN), had also cited serious health conditions—including having only one functional kidney—to argue for leniency.
However, EFCC prosecutors objected, noting a consistent pattern of delay and abuse of the court process.
Ms Dada agreed, previously ruling that medical-related adjournments had already stalled the case for over 13 years.
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