Hearing in the trial of a Lagos socialite, Fred Ajudua and his co-defendant, Charles Orie, could not go on yesterday following an ongoing discussion between the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and counsel to Ajudua led by Mr. Charles Uwensuyi- Edosomwan SAN.
Ajudua and his co-defendant, Orie, are being tried by the EFCC for allegedly defrauding two Dutch businessmen, Remy Cina and Pierre Vijgen of $1.69 million (about N270 million).
At the resumed hearing of the trial, Ajudua's lawyer, Edosomwan SAN, informed the court about an ongoing consultation with the prosecution, but said no agreement has been reached.
Edosomwan urged the court to grant a short adjournment to enable parties meet and report back to the court.
He said; "A lot has happened since the defendant (Ajudua) was remanded in prison, his heath condition has worsened. We are consulting with the prosecution to reach an agreement."
In his submissions, counsel to EFCC, Olumuyiwa Balogun, confirmed that both parties are meeting, adding that the report would soon be made available to the court.
National Mirror gathered that the essence of the consultation was to enable Ajudua perfect his bail so that he could travel abroad for medical treatment.
It will be recalled that the EFCC had appealed against the ruling of a Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja, which granted bail to Ajudua.
In its Notice of Appeal, EFCC prayed the court to revoke Ajudua's bail on the ground that he was likely to jump bail.
The Notice of Appeal signed by Oluwafifehan Ogunde, said Ajudua, being a socialite, might interfere with prosecution witnesses.
According to EFCC, Ajudua did not deserve fresh bail since he ran away from trial for seven years.
Meanwhile, Ajudua was said to have pleaded with the EFCC to withdraw the Notice of Appeal to enable him go for medical treatment abroad.
If an agreement is reached, EFCC will withdraw its Notice of Appeal challenging the bail while Ajudua would also withdraw his application which demanded that the case should be reassigned to another judge.
National Mirror gathered that the lead prosecuting counsel, Mr. Wemimo Ogunde (SAN), had insisted that he would only withdraw the application changing Ajudua's bail following a written instruction from the EFCC.
Already, Ajudua may have withdrawn his petition allegedly written against the EFCC Chairman, Mr. Ibrahim Lamorde.
Source: $1.69m fraud: Ajudua pleads with EFCC not to oppose bail (http://nationalmirroronline.net/new/1-69m-fraud-ajudua-pleads-with-efcc-not-to-oppose-bail/)