The Supreme Court has ordered Lagos socialite Fred Ajudua to return to prison, revoking the bail previously granted to him in connection with an alleged $1.43 million international fraud scheme.
The unanimous decision by a five-member panel of justices on Friday marked a crucial victory for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which has been pursuing the case against Ajudua for his alleged role in defrauding a German-based Palestinian businessman.
Justice Chioma Nwosu-Iheme, in her lead judgement, stated, “This appeal succeeds, and it is hereby allowed. The respondent is to be remanded in prison custody.”
The Supreme Court’s ruling hinged on a procedural misstep by the Court of Appeal, which had granted Ajudua bail in December 2018. Justice Nwosu-Iheme determined that the appellate court had overstepped its authority by granting bail after having already declared Ajudua’s brief of argument incompetent.
The Supreme Court’s ruling noted, “It is crystal clear that the lower court was on all fours with the law when it declared the appellant’s brief of argument incompetent and struck it out. At that point, the appellant’s (Ajudua’s) appeal was extinguished. There was, therefore, nothing more to consider in that appeal.”
The Supreme Court ordered the case returned to the original trial judge, Justice Mojisola Dada of the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja, for “continuation of speedy trial and determination within the shortest possible time.”
The case stems from allegations first raised by the Embassy of the State of Palestine in August 1993. According to EFCC prosecutors, Ajudua and an accomplice, Joseph Ochunor (who remains at large), allegedly obtained approximately $1.43 million through false pretences from Ziad Abu Zalaf, a Palestinian businessman operating through Technical International Ltd.
The EFCC’s 12-count charge details that the defendants allegedly received $268,000 on April 2, 1993, followed by another $225,000 on May 12 of the same year. Prosecutors further claim the defendants forged Central Bank of Nigeria and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation receipts to lend credibility to their scheme.
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