Lagos Court Dismisses Ajudua’s Renewed Bail Bid in Long-Running $1.04m Fraud Case

A Lagos Special Offences Court has rejected a renewed bail application from well-known businessman Fred Ajudua, who is on trial for allegedly defrauding Palestinian investor Zad Abu Zalaf of $1.043 million.

Delivering her ruling on Thursday, 20 November 2025, Justice Mojisola Dada held that the defence failed to provide any fresh or compelling grounds to justify revisiting the earlier bail decision. She described the application as lacking merit and dismissed it outright. The court noted that medical reports from the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) did not indicate that Ajudua’s condition could not be properly managed while in custody. Justice Dada emphasised that nothing in the submission demonstrated a change in circumstance serious enough to warrant a new bail order.

Shortly after the ruling, defence counsel Olalekan Ojo (SAN) drew the court’s attention to a separate motion filed on 17 November 2025, challenging the competence of the third prosecution witness (PW3) to continue giving evidence. He stressed that the matter ought to be heard before the trial proceeds, though he left the final decision to the court. Prosecuting counsel Seidu Atteh confirmed receiving the application and requested additional time to respond on points of law. The latest development follows a recent Supreme Court ruling that struck out Ajudua’s attempt to challenge its previous decision in the same matter. The apex court’s position effectively cleared the way for proceedings to resume, with the trial restarting before Justice Dada on 31 October 2025. The fraud case, which began in 2005 before Justice M.O. Obadina, has witnessed a succession of adjournments and transfers between judges, largely driven by repeated applications from the defence. It later moved to Justice J.E. Oyefeso before being reassigned to Justice Dada, where Ajudua was re-arraigned on 4 June 2018. Following Thursday’s ruling, the court ordered the defence team to proceed with the cross-examination of PW3, Afanda Bashir Emmanuel. The matter has been adjourned to 28 November 2025 for the hearing of the outstanding motion and continued trial.