The Supreme Court has dealt a major blow to embattled Lagos socialite Fred Ajudua, overturning a 2018 Court of Appeal ruling that granted him bail in a long-running fraud case involving over $1 million.
In a landmark ruling delivered on Friday, May 5, Justice Chioma Nwosu-Iheme upheld two appeals filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), declaring that the Court of Appeal had erred in granting Ajudua bail and disrupting the trial’s continuity.
Ajudua is accused of swindling a Palestinian businessman, Zad Abu Zalaf, out of $1,043,000 through fraudulent claims—an allegation that has haunted him since 2005. The case, first heard by Justice M.O. Obadina at the Lagos High Court in Ikeja, has faced repeated delays due to legal maneuvers. It was eventually reassigned to Justice J.E. Oyefeso and later to Justice M.A. Dada, before whom Ajudua was formally arraigned on June 4, 2018.
After Justice Dada initially denied him bail, Ajudua successfully appealed the decision and was granted temporary release on September 10, 2018. But the EFCC fought back, filing two separate suits—SC/51C/2019 to challenge the bail itself and SC/912C/2018 to contest the Court of Appeal’s directive transferring the case away from Justice Dada.
The Supreme Court, in its verdict, sided with the EFCC, reinstating Justice Dada’s original ruling and ordering Ajudua’s immediate remand to a correctional facility.
Furthermore, the court instructed the Chief Judge of Lagos State to reassign the case back to Justice Dada for uninterrupted continuation, emphasizing the need to avoid derailing the judicial process.
In its closing remarks, the court also ruled that the second appeal (SC/912C/2018) had become academic, noting that the reassignment directive was no longer relevant.
The decision marks a significant turn in one of Nigeria’s most protracted financial crime trials, raising hopes for a long-awaited conclusion to the high-profile case.
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