By Charles Pemu 
IKEJA, LAGOS – Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, yesterday refused a fresh bail application filed by Fred Ajudua, who is on trial for allegedly defrauding Palestinian national Zad Abu Zalaf of $1,043,000 under false pretenses. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is prosecuting the case.
This refusal follows the Supreme Court’s decision on May 5, 2025, which had revoked the bail previously granted to Ajudua by the Court of Appeal, Lagos, and reinstated Justice Dada’s original ruling declining bail.
At yesterday’s proceeding, Ajudua was present in court, accompanied by medical personnel from Lagos State University Teaching Hospital (LUTH). His counsel argued for bail, citing his client’s chronic kidney disease, but the prosecution objected.
In her ruling, Justice Dada stated her inclination to await and abide by the outcome of applications filed at the Supreme Court. “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 held. The case was subsequently adjourned to October 10, October 31, and November 20 for continuation of trial.
Earlier in the proceedings, prosecution witness (PW) 3, Afanda Emmanuel, an EFCC operative, was called to the witness box. The defence initially objected to his testimony, claiming the witness had no statement. However, the prosecution clarified that the witness’s statement, along with additional proof, was filed on September 17, 2018. The court then allowed Emmanuel to give his evidence.
Emmanuel narrated that in 2005, cases, including the defendant’s, were transferred from the Nigeria Police Special Fraud Unit (SFU) to the EFCC for further investigation. He added that in 2011, he was directed to study the file, which contained earlier letters from the Nigeria Police Force to the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC).
The defence counsel objected to the EFCC tendering these documents as evidence, arguing they were not original or certified true copies, and that the EFCC was not the maker. Justice Dada, in her ruling, rejected two of the documents but admitted another two as exhibits. The court then adjourned to allow the defendant’s counsel to cross-examine the witness.
The case, which originally commenced in 2005 before Justice Morenike Obadina of the Lagos State High Court, Ikeja, has faced numerous delays, being reassigned to Justice Josephine Oyefeso and then to Justice Mojisola Dada before Ajudua was finally arraigned on June 4, 2018.