The alleged $1 million fraud trial of Lagos socialite Fred Ajudua has suffered another setback after a special offences court sitting in Ikeja adjourned the case indefinitely amid disagreements over which judge should continue with the proceedings.
Justice Mojisola Dada ordered the indefinite adjournment on Monday following arguments from the defence and prosecution on the implications of a recent ruling by the Court of Appeal of Nigeria.
Ajudua is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over allegations that he defrauded a Palestinian businessman, Zad Abu Zalaf, of $1,043,000 in a deal that dates back to 2005.
The case has experienced numerous delays over the years and has been transferred between several judges at the Lagos State High Court. It was first assigned to Justice Morenike Obadina, but arraignment did not take place before it was moved to Justice Josephine Oyefeso and later reassigned to Justice Dada.
Ajudua was eventually arraigned on June 4, 2018.
At the start of the trial, Justice Dada rejected the defendant’s bail application, citing the long delay already associated with the case. The defendant subsequently approached the Court of Appeal in Lagos, which granted him bail on September 10, 2018.
The EFCC later challenged the decision at the Supreme Court of Nigeria, which in May 2025 overturned the appellate court’s ruling and reinstated the trial court’s earlier decision denying bail.
The apex court also directed that the Chief Judge of Lagos State reassign the case to Justice Dada for continuation of the trial.
When the case resumed before the court, Ajudua filed a fresh bail application, which was rejected in November 2025. Dissatisfied with the ruling, he returned to the appellate court.
In January 2026, the Court of Appeal sitting in Yola set aside the trial court’s decision and granted the defendant bail, ruling that the lower court had misapplied the earlier Supreme Court judgment.
The EFCC has since approached the Supreme Court seeking to overturn the appellate court’s ruling.
During Monday’s proceedings, defence counsel Olalekan Ojo informed the court that the certified true copy of the Court of Appeal judgment had been filed alongside a motion dated March 5, 2026.
Ojo argued that the appellate court had granted bail and ordered that the substantive case be remitted to another court to commence afresh.
He maintained that the current court no longer had jurisdiction to continue with the case and could only transmit the case file to the Chief Judge of Lagos State for reassignment.
“Until that judgment is set aside, the court must act on it,” he said.
However, the prosecuting counsel, S.K. Atteh, opposed the defence position, arguing that the appellate court’s ruling merely granted bail and did not direct that the case be reassigned to another judge.
Atteh further noted that the defence had filed a separate motion at the Court of Appeal seeking clarification on whether the case should indeed be transferred to another judge.
Following the submissions, Justice Dada adjourned the case indefinitely pending further clarification on the jurisdictional issues raised.
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