Ajudua’s Absence Stalls $1m Fraud Trial

The 21-year-old fraud trial of Fred Ajudua was again stalled yesterday due to the defendant’s absence before the Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja.

Ajudua, who was first arraigned before the court in 2004, for allegedly obtaining $1.046 million from a German, Zaid Abu Zalaf, in 1993, was said to be absent due to ill health.

His lawyer, Olalekan Ojo (SAN), told the trial judge, Justice Mojisola Dada, that the defendant is currently receiving treatment at the University of Lagos Teaching Hospital (LUTH) in Idi-Araba, Lagos.

Ajudua was arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission before Justice Dada on a 12-count charge of fraud and conspiracy.

The anti-graft agency alleged that Ajudua conspired with Joseph Ochunor, who is still at large, sometime in 1993, defrauded his victim, Zalaf of Technical International Ltd, a company based in Germany.

The EFCC further claimed that Ajudua and Ochunor forged receipts from the Central Bank of Nigeria and the Nigerian National Petroleum Corporation, presenting them as original documents to lend credibility to the alleged scam.

At the resumed hearing of the matter on Wednesday, Ojo told the court that the Ikoyi Medium Correctional Facility had communicated with the trial court, confirming that the defendant is undergoing treatment at LUTH.

He claimed that after the Supreme Court’s judgment on May 9, 2024, he, along with Senator Ned Nwoko, who represents Ajudua’s senatorial district in the Upper Chambers, accompanied the defendant to the headquarters of the EFCC in compliance with the Supreme Court’s ruling.

The lawyer stated, “My Lord, I know that the correctional centre has written a letter to the court regarding the defendant’s treatment at LUTH.

“Following the Supreme Court’s judgment delivered on May 9, 2025, after reading it online, the defendant voluntarily surrendered to the EFCC at its headquarters in Abuja on May 13, 2025.

“On that day, he was accompanied by Senator Ned Nwoko, representing Delta North Senatorial District in the National Assembly. I led them to the EFCC office, even though we did not have access to the Certified True Copy (CTC) of the Supreme Court’s judgment,” Ojo stated.

In response, the EFCC’s counsel, Seidu Atteh, informed the court that the day’s agenda was the continuation of the prosecution’s case and that they were ready to proceed.

Atteh also noted that the EFCC had two witnesses present in court, ready to testify. “We have two witnesses here today. One of the witnesses is from Enugu, while the second is from Port Harcourt.”

However, based on the defendant’s absence, Justice Dada adjourned the case to July 30.