Court adjourns Ajudua’s alleged $1m case indefinitely

The trial of Lagos-based businessman, Fred Ajudua, over an alleged $1.043 million fraud was on Monday adjourned indefinitely by the Lagos State Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja.

Justice Mojisola Dada ordered the indefinite adjournment after striking out a motion filed by the defence during proceedings.

Ajudua is facing prosecution for allegedly defrauding a Palestinian businessman, Zad Abu Zalaf, of $1,043,000.

The case has had a prolonged history in the courts since it was first instituted in 2005 before Justice M.O. Obadina of the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja.

Proceedings over the years have been repeatedly stalled by legal disputes and technical challenges raised by the defence, which delayed the defendant’s arraignment.

Following Justice Obadina’s exit from the case, the matter was reassigned to Justice J.E. Oyefeso and later to Justice Dada, before whom Ajudua was eventually arraigned on June 4, 2018.

Justice Dada initially denied the defendant bail, prompting Ajudua to approach the Court of Appeal in Lagos, which granted him bail on September 10, 2018. Dissatisfied with the decision, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) filed an appeal at the Supreme Court.

The anti-graft agency also challenged the appellate court’s earlier decision directing that the case be transferred from Justice Dada to another judge to begin afresh.

The Supreme Court later resolved both issues in favour of the prosecution, ordering that the case be returned to the Chief Judge of Lagos State for reassignment to Justice Dada to continue the trial and ensure speedy determination.

However, fresh legal developments surfaced during Monday’s proceedings.

Defence counsel, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, informed the court that a new judgment delivered by the Court of Appeal on January 30, 2026 had granted the defendant bail and ordered that the case be remitted to another court to commence afresh.

Ojo explained that a Certified True Copy of the judgment had been forwarded to the court and attached to a motion on notice filed by the defence on March 5, 2026.

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According to him, the appellate court’s decision meant the current court no longer had jurisdiction to proceed with the trial.

He further disclosed that the defence had written to the Chief Judge of Lagos State requesting the reassignment of the case to another judge of the High Court for the matter to start de novo.

The senior advocate added that the defence was relying on the Court of Appeal judgment and not on the motion filed on March 5.

Responding, prosecuting counsel S.K. Atteh told the court that the prosecution only received the defence application late on Friday.

Atteh argued that although the Court of Appeal granted bail to the defendant, the judgment did not expressly order the transfer of the case to another court.

He also informed the court that the defence had filed another motion before the Court of Appeal seeking clarification or interpretation of the judgment regarding the alleged order transferring the case to another judge—an issue he said had already been determined by the Supreme Court.

The prosecutor urged the court to strike out the motion if the defence counsel was no longer relying on it.

After hearing arguments from both sides, Justice Dada struck out the motion on notice and adjourned the matter sine die, effectively suspending further proceedings pending clarification of the legal issues raised.

Meanwhile, the defence has also approached the Supreme Court with another application. Counsel to Ajudua filed a motion on February 24, 2026 asking the apex court to set aside its earlier judgment delivered on May 9, 2025 in the protracted case.

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