The Lagos State High Court in Ikeja has adjourned indefinitely the trial of Lagos socialite Fred Ajudua over an alleged $1,043,000 fraud.
The trial judge, Mojisola Dada, took the decision on Monday after striking out a motion filed by the defence and opting to await the outcome of a pending appeal at the Supreme Court.
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According to a statement shared with PREMIUM TIMES on Tuesday by the spokesperson of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Dele Oyewale, the judge ruled after hearing submissions from both the defence and prosecution.
The EFCC is prosecuting Mr Ajudua for allegedly defrauding a Palestinian businessman, Zad Abu Zalaf, of $1,043,000 under false pretences.
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At Monday’s proceedings, defence lawyer Olalekan Ojo, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), informed the court that the defendant had filed a motion on notice following a recent judgement of the Court of Appeal.
“This matter was earlier adjourned for the continuation of trial. However, there is a supervening factor, which is the judgement of the Court of Appeal delivered on 30 January 2026, allowing the appeal against the ruling of the Lagos State High Court refusing the defendant bail,” Mr Ojo said.
He said a Certified True Copy of the judgement had been forwarded to the court and attached to the motion filed on 5 March.
According to him, the appellate court granted bail to the defendant and ordered that the substantive suit be transferred to another court to commence afresh (de novo).
Mr Ojo argued that based on the appellate court’s decision, the present court no longer had jurisdiction to continue hearing the case.
“Until that judgement is set aside, the court must act on it. We have written a letter to the Chief Judge of Lagos State to reassign the case to another judge of the High Court,” he said.
The defence lawyer also informed the court that the complainant had appealed against the decision at the Supreme Court.
Prosecution responds
Responding, prosecution lawyer S. K. Atteh told the court that his team received the defence application late on Friday.
He argued that although the Court of Appeal granted bail to the defendant, the judgement did not contain any order directing that the case be transferred to another court.
Mr Atteh further told the court that the defence had filed a motion before the Court of Appeal seeking clarification on whether the case should indeed be reassigned to another judge to begin afresh.
He said the request contradicted an earlier ruling of the Supreme Court on the matter and urged the court to strike out the defence motion since the counsel had indicated he was not relying on it.
After listening to the arguments of both parties, Mrs Dada struck out the motion on notice and adjourned the case indefinitely.
Background
Mr Ajudua’s trial has faced several delays since it began in 2005 before another judge M. O. Obadina of the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja.
The case was later reassigned to a judge J. E. Oyefeso and subsequently to Ms Dada, before whom the defendant was finally arraigned on 4 June 2018.
Following Ms Dada’s refusal to grant bail, the defendant appealed to the Court of Appeal, which granted him bail on 10 September 2018. Dissatisfied with the ruling, the EFCC approached the Supreme Court.
In May 2025, the Supreme Court revoked the bail granted to Mr Ajudua by the appellate court, ruling that his appeal was filed out of time and directing that the trial continue before Mrs Dada.
However, in a fresh judgement delivered on 30 January, the Court of Appeal set aside a November 2025 ruling of the Lagos High Court that had refused him bail.
The appellate court held that the trial court misinterpreted the Supreme Court’s earlier ruling and wrongly concluded that it barred the defendant from filing a fresh bail application.
The court also ruled that the medical evidence presented by Mr Ajudua, including reports indicating he suffers from chronic kidney disease and has a solitary kidney, disclosed exceptional circumstances that should have been considered in determining his bail application.
The court consequently granted him bail in the sum of N30 million with two sureties in like sum and ordered him to surrender his passport to the Chief Registrar of the Lagos State High Court.
Meanwhile, the defence has filed another motion at the Supreme Court on 24 February seeking to set aside the Supreme Court’s earlier judgement delivered on 9 May 2025.
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Charges
The charges against Mr Ajudua stem from allegations dating back to 1993, when he was accused of conspiring with an accomplice, Joseph Ochunor, to defraud a German businessman, Michael Kreamer, using forged documents purportedly issued by the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation.
The EFCC alleged that the victim paid an initial $550,000 through a Palestinian businessman, Mr Zalaf, followed by additional payments of $268,000 and $225,000 in April and May 1993.
Mr Ajudua denied the allegations.
