The special offences court in Ikeja, Lagos, has adjourned the alleged fraud trial of Fred Ajudua, a socialite, indefinitely.
Mojisola Dada, the trial judge, took the decision on Monday.
THE CASE
Ajudua is standing trial, in a case that began in 2005, for
allegedly defrauding Zad Abu Zalaf, a Palestinian, of $1,043,000.
The case was initially assigned to Morenike Obadina, a judge
at the Lagos high court, but arraignment did not take place.
It was later reassigned to Josephine Oyefeso, another judge,
before it was reassigned again to Dada.
Ajudua was finally arraigned on June 4, 2018.
At the commencement of trial, Dada denied Ajudua’s bail
application due to the delay the case had suffered.
The defendant subsequently approached the court of appeal in
Lagos, which granted him bail on September 10, 2018.
However, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission
(EFCC), which is prosecuting the case, took the matter to the supreme court.
In May 2025, the supreme court revoked the bail granted to
Ajudua by the appeal court and ordered the reinstatement of the ruling of the
lower court, which declined the bail application.
The apex court directed that the chief judge of Lagos
reassign the case to Dada for continuation of trial.
When the case was reassigned, Ajudua filed another bail
application, which was rejected by the court in November 2025.
Displeased with the rejection of the fresh bail application,
the defendant approached the appeal court.
In January 2026, the court of appeal in Yola set aside the
November 2025 verdict of the Lagos court and granted bail to the defendant.
The appeal court held that the trial court misapplied the
May 2025 Supreme Court ruling in denying the defendant bail.
The appellate court ruled that the apex court did not
expressly prohibit Ajudua from filing a fresh bail application.
The anti-graft agency had approached the Supreme Court to
alter the judgment of the appeal court.
MONDAY’S PROCEEDINGS
In a statement by the anti-graft agency, Olalekan Ojo,
counsel to the socialite, told the court that a motion on notice had been
filed.
Ojo said the certified true copy (CTC) of the judgment of
the appeal court had been forwarded to the court and attached to the motion on
notice filed by the defence on March 5, 2026.
The counsel said the appeal court granted bail to the
defendant and also ordered that the substantive suit be remitted to another
court to commence de novo — that is afresh.
Ojo said the Lagos court no longer has the jurisdiction to
continue with the case and could only direct that the case file be sent to the
chief judge of Lagos state for reassignment based on the judgment of the appeal
court.
He added that the decision of the court of appeal granting
bail to his client had been appealed.
“However, there is a supervening factor, which is the
judgment of the Court of Appeal delivered on January 30, 2026, allowing the
appeal against the ruling of the Lagos State High Court refusing the defendant
bail,” he said.
“Until that judgment 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 of Lagos state.”
Responding, S.K. Atteh, the prosecuting counsel, said his
team received the application late Friday.
Atteh said the judgment of the court of appeal did not
direct that the case be transferred to another court, adding that the court
only granted bail to the defendant.
The prosecutor said counsel to the defendant had filed a
motion asking the court of appeal to clarify its judgment on reassignment of
the case to another judge, in contrast to the decision of the apex court on the
case.
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