Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos, has denied a fresh bail application by Fred Ajudua, who is on trial for allegedly defrauding a Palestinian businessman, Zad Abu Zalaf, of $1,043,000.
Ajudua, accompanied to court by medical personnel from Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH), sought bail on medical grounds. His counsel, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, argued that despite Ajudua’s health condition, efforts were made to ensure his presence in court. He added that the defendant was fit for trial and supported the fresh application—dated July 22—with a 12-paragraph affidavit and a written address.
However, prosecuting counsel, S.H. Atteh, opposed the application, citing a pending appeal before the Supreme Court and presenting a counter-affidavit with attached exhibits, including a Supreme Court judgment. Atteh maintained that the trial court should defer to the Supreme Court on the matter.
In her ruling, Justice Dada stated, “In view of the application pending before the Supreme Court, I am constrained to make any pronouncement on this bail application. I will abide by the decisions of the Supreme Court.”
The prosecution subsequently called its third witness, Bashir Emmanuel Afanda, an EFCC operative, who testified that the case was transferred from the Nigeria Police to the EFCC between 2005 and 2011. He detailed investigative efforts involving correspondence with the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC), and Nigerian Chamber of Commerce. Afanda added that forensic analysis of the documents was conducted in 2013 and that he interviewed the complainant in 2018.
Defence counsel Ojo objected to the admissibility of several documents tendered by the prosecution, particularly photocopies and those not authored or certified by the witness. In her ruling, Justice Dada admitted two exhibits (P1 and P2) but rejected the forensic report and CBN documents (marked Exhibits 3 and 4), upholding the defence’s objection.
The trial was adjourned to October 10, October 31, and November 20, 2025, for continuation.
