The Supreme Court has ordered that Lagos businessman and former socialite, Fred Ajudua be returned to correctional custody for a crime he allegedly committed over three decades ago.
In a unanimous ruling on Friday, the apex court overturned a decision of the Court of Appeal which granted bail to Ajuda who is standing trial for allegedly defrauding a German company of $1 million
The apex court held that the Appeal Court erred in granting bail and ordered Ajudua’s return to correctional custody.
The court also directed trial judge, Justice Mojisola Dada, of the Lagos State High Court, to resume hearing of the criminal case.
Ajudua was initially charged before Justice Josephine Oyefeso of the Lagos High Court, but the case was later re-filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and reassigned to Justice Dada.
The Embassy of the State of Palestine had, in a letter dated August 26, 1993, to the then Minister of Foreign Affairs and copied to the IGP, accused Ajudua of obtaining $1,043,000 by false pretence from a Palestinian, Ziad Abu Zalaf, who was then based in Germany.
Upon the completion of the investigation, the EFCC filed a 12-count charge against Ajudua before the High Court of Lagos State in Ikeja.
In the charge, the EFCC alleged among others, that Ajudua conspired with one Joseph Ochunor, who is still at large, to obtain money by false pretences from Ziad Abu Zalaf of Technical International Ltd., a division of Mystic Company Ltd., a German-based company.
It also alleged that, with intent to defraud, Ajudua and Ochunor obtained $268,000 on April 2, 1993, from Zalaf and, on May 12, 1993, again obtained the sum of $225,000 from Zalaf.
The EFCC equally claimed that Ajudua and Ochunor, in a bid to give credence to the alleged scam, forged a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) receipt and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and presented it to the foreigner as genuine.
Ajudua was subsequently arraigned. But, before trial could commence, his lawyer, Olalekan Ojo, brought an application for pre-trial bail, claiming his client was suffering from a serious health challenge.
At his re-arraignment on July 6, 2018, Justice Dada denied Ajudua’s bail application on health grounds, noting that the case had suffered repeated delays for over 13 years.
“This case is one of the oldest in Lagos State. Bail is refused and the defendant is to be remanded in prison custody,” she ruled.
Following the ruling, Ajudua’s counsel, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, approached the Court of Appeal in Lagos, where Justice Mohammed Garba overturned Justice Dada’s decision, holding that bail was a constitutional right. The court also allowed Ajudua to remain free under his previous bail conditions.
Dissatisfied with this decision, the EFCC challenged the ruling at the Supreme Court. The apex court allowed the appeal in its judgment on Friday and proceeded to restore the earlier decision of Justice Dada denying bail to Ajudua.
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