Connect with us

News

Supreme Court revokes bail granted Fred Ajudua in alleged $1.04m fraud case

Published

on

The Supreme Court has ordered that Lagos socialite, Fred Ajudua should be returned to prison custody preparatory to the resumption of his trial in relation to a $1,043,000 fraud case brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.

A five-member panel of the apex court issued the order in a unanimous judgment delivered on Friday in an appeal, marked: SC/CR/51/2019 filed in the name of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, FRN, by the EFCC, with Ajudua as the sole respondent.

In the lead judgment by Justice Chioma Nwosu-Iheme, the apex court revoked the bail granted to Ajudua by the Court of Appeal in Lagos in a judgment delivered on December 10, 2018.

Justice Nwosu-Iheme held that the Court of Appeal had no jurisdiction to grant the bail it granted Ajudua in the December 10, 2018 judgment having found incompetent the brief of argument filed in Ajudua’s appeal against a July 5, 2018 ruling by Justice Mojisola Dada of the HIgh of Lagos State, Ikeja, rejecting his request for pre-trial bail.

The judge further held that, having found that Ajudua’s brief of argument was incompetent and proceeded to strike it out, the Court of Appeal was wrong to have still considered the incompetent brief and granted the appellant’s prayer for pre-trial bail.

She said: “It is crystal clear that the lower court was on all fours with the law when it declared the appellant’s brief of argument incompetent and struck it out.

“At that point, the appellant’s (Ajudua’s) appeal was extinguished. There was therefore, nothing more to consider in that appeal. The lower court, at that point, had no jurisdiction to proceed further. It had become functus officio.”

Justice Nwosu-Iheme held that the action of the lower court, in proceeding to consider the arguments canvassed in the brief of argument it earlier found to be incompetent, was an exercise in futility and a complete nullity.

She added: “Since the lower court had no jurisdiction to consider other issues canvassed in the brief of argument, which it had declared incompetent and struck out, it would amount to an academic exercise to delve into any other issue in the appeal.

“This appeal, having been determined on the issue of jurisdiction alone, the issue of bail is inseparable from the appeal itself.

“This appeal succeeds and it is hereby allowed. The decision of the trial court dated the 5th day of July 2018 refusing bail to the respondent (Ajudua) is hereby restored.

“The respondent is to be remanded in prison custody. Accordingly, this case is remitted back to the Chief Judge of Lagos State to be assigned to the same trial judge, M. A. Dada J for the continuation of speedy trial and determination within the shortest possible time,” Justice Nwosu-Iheme said.

The Embassy of the State of Palestine had, in a letter dated August 26, 1993 to the then Minister of Foreign Affairs and copied the IGP, accused Ajudua of obtaining $1,043,000 by false pretence from a Palestinian, Ziad Abu Zalaf, who was then based in Germany.

Upon the completion of investigation, the EFCC filed a 12-count charge against Ajudua before the High Court of Lagos State in Ikeja.

In the charge, the EFCC alleged among others, that Ajudua conspired with one Joseph Ochunor, who is still at large, to obtain money by false pretenses from Ziad Abu Zalaf of Technical International Ltd., a division of Mystic Company Ltd., a German-based company.

It also alleged that, with intent to defraud, Ajudua and Ochunor obtained $268,000 on April 2, 1993 from Zalaf and on May 12, 1993 again obtained the sum of $225,000 from Zalaf.

The EFCC equally claimed that Ajudua and Ochunor, in a bid to give credence to the alleged scam, forged a Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) receipt and Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation (NNPC) and presented it to the foreigner as genuine.

Ajudua was subsequently arraigned. But, before trial could commence, his lawyer, Olalekan Ojo brought an application for pre-trial bail, claiming his client was suffering from serious health challenge.

In a ruling on July 5, 2018, Justice Dada refused the bail application and ordered him to submit himself for trial, a decision Ajudua appealed at the Court of Appeal in Lagos.

It its judgment on December 10, 2018, a three-member panel of the Court of Appeal reversed Justice Dada’s decision and granted bail to Ajudua.

Justice Mohammed Garba, in the lead judgment of the Court of Appeal, held among others, that bail is a constitutional right, which the appellant (Ajudua) ought to enjoy.

The EFCC was dissatisfied with the decision of the Court of Appeal and challenged it at the Supreme Court, which appeal the apex court allowed in it judgment on Friday and proceeded to restore the earlier decision of Justice Dada denying bail to Ajudua.

News

Abia govt agency reacts to alleged sex scandal involving Ex-Director, two female staff

Published

on

Abia State Oil Producing Areas Development Commission, ASOPADEC has broken its silence on the alleged sex scandal involving its former Director and two female staff, where it was alleged that theit trysts were recorded on video.

The Commission which made a statement on Friday in reaction to the trending issue, said it does not condone immoral act in all ramifications.

A statement from ASOPADEC signed by Iyke Onuegbu, its Head of Media/PRO said its attention was drawn to the viral publications on social media, pointing out that ASOPADEC cannot be held responsible for unspeakable private affairs of employees outside office hours.

“The public is hereby informed that the incidents as alleged happened in the past and the former director in question has long retired from service.

“The Commission is taking steps to conduct an internal investigation on the matter after which appropriate sanctions would be applied on erring staff in line with the service rules” he said.

According to Onuegbu, at the inception of the new administration, frantic efforts were made to clean the mess of the past and the Commission is being administered with zero-tolerance towards any form of misconduct.

The agency cautioned its present staff to uphold the Commission’s mandates and not engage in any immoral acts that may bring the image of the agency to disrepute.

It appealed to the social media handlers and the public to distance the present administration with whatever that may have happened in the past.

Continue Reading

News

Edo: Bishop begs Tinubu, security agencies to rescue kidnapped seminarians

Published

on

The Catholic Bishop of Auchi Diocese, Gabriel Dunia, has called on President Bola Tinubu, Edo State Governor Monday Okpebholo and the security agencies to expedite action and rescue two abducted seminarians whose ordeal in the den of their captors was recently captured in a viral video.

In a statement signed by the Diocese’s Director of Communications, Reverend Peter Egielewa, on Thursday, the Bishop said he was deeply hurt that his seminarians had been with armed strangers for 35 days and urged people to pray for their release.

He particularly appealed to the president, the governor and all security agencies in the country to do the needful and help rescue the seminarians from the hands of the kidnappers.

Ekwutosblog reports that the viral video showed two young children clutching what appears to be a human skull, crying, and pleading for their release while surrounded by gun-wielding men.

The church confirmed in its statement that the children in the footage are two of the three seminarians kidnapped when gunmen attacked the Immaculate Conception Minor Seminary in Ivhianokpodi-Agenebode, in the Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State, on July 10, 2025.

“As the chief shepherd of the Diocese, I feel personally hurt and disturbed that my seminarians, our children, have been living with armed strangers for 35 days now. I find it difficult to sleep these days because of this. We have been praying since their kidnap, and again I call on people everywhere to please pray with us,” the Bishop said.

Continue Reading

News

Police finally returned my stolen AI Ray-Ban sunglasses – Sowore

Published

on

The Nigeria Police Force, NPF, has returned the Artificial intelligence, AI, Ray-Ban sun glasses back to activist politicians, Omoyele Sowore.

Sowore had alleged that the sun glass was stolen during a protest by retired police officers on July 21, 2025 at the Force headquarters.

The protest was organised to demand improved welfare and retirement benefits for Nigerian police officers.

During the peaceful protest, Sowore had claimed that the glass was stolen by one Aku Victor Chiemerie.

However, Sowore confirmed the return of the glasses in a post on X.

“Today, the Nigeria Police Force returned my stolen Ray-Ban Meta eyeglasses, stolen by the National Thief, Aku Victor Chiemerie, to me,” he wrote.

Continue Reading

Trending