The trial of Lagos socialite, Fred Ajudua, over an alleged $1.043 million fraud has been adjourned indefinitely by the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos.
Justice Mojisola Dada ordered the indefinite adjournment on Monday after striking out a motion filed by the defence during proceedings in the long-running case.
Ajudua is being prosecuted for allegedly defrauding a Palestinian national, Zad Abu Zalaf, of $1,043,000 under false pretences.
The case, which has spanned over two decades, was originally instituted in 2005 before Justice M.O. Obadina of the Lagos State High Court in Ikeja. Proceedings suffered repeated delays due to legal technicalities raised by the defendant, which complicated his arraignment and slowed the trial.
The matter was later reassigned to Justice J.E. Oyefeso and subsequently to Justice Mojisola Dada, before whom Ajudua was eventually arraigned on June 4, 2018.
Following his arraignment, Justice Dada denied the defendant bail. However, Ajudua challenged the decision at the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal, which granted him bail on September 10, 2018.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), dissatisfied with the appellate court’s ruling, proceeded to the Supreme Court. The anti-graft agency also filed a separate appeal challenging the appellate court’s directive to transfer the case from Justice Dada to another judge for a fresh trial.
The Supreme Court eventually resolved both issues in favour of the prosecution and ordered that the case be reassigned to Justice Dada for continuation and speedy determination.
At Monday’s proceedings, defence counsel, Olalekan Ojo (SAN), informed the court of a “supervening factor,” citing a judgment delivered by the Court of Appeal on January 30, 2026.
According to him, the appellate court granted bail to Ajudua and directed that the substantive suit be transferred to another judge of the Lagos State High Court to commence afresh.
Ojo told the court that a Certified True Copy of the judgment had been forwarded and attached to a motion on notice filed by the defence on March 5, 2026.
He further stated that the defence had written to the Chief Judge of Lagos State requesting the reassignment of the case to another judge in line with the appellate court’s ruling.
The senior advocate argued that Justice Dada no longer had jurisdiction to continue with the case and could only forward the case file to the Chief Judge for reassignment.
He also informed the court that although the motion filed on March 5 was in the court file, he was relying primarily on the judgment of the Court of Appeal.
Responding, prosecuting counsel S.K. Atteh said the application was served on him late on Friday. He argued that while the Court of Appeal granted bail to the defendant, the judgment did not contain any order transferring the case to another court.
Atteh further disclosed that the defence had filed a motion before the Court of Appeal seeking clarification on whether the case should be reassigned to another judge to start afresh.
He urged the court to strike out the defence motion if counsel was no longer relying on it.
After considering the arguments from both parties, Justice Dada struck out the motion and adjourned the case sine die, effectively putting the trial on hold indefinitely.
Meanwhile, the defence has also approached the Supreme Court with another application filed on February 24, 2026, seeking to set aside the apex court’s earlier judgment delivered on May 9, 2025.
The development marks another twist in the protracted fraud case, which has been marked by years of legal disputes and procedural challenges.
