By SCM Staff Writer I Friday, Oct.31, 2025
LAGOS, Nigeria – High-flying socialite Fred Ajudua has sensationally dropped his challenge in the Supreme Court over a £850,000 fraud case – clearing the way for a lower court to finally rule on his long-running bail plea.
Ajudua is accused of conning Palestinian businessman Zad Abu Zalaf out of a whopping $1,043,000 (around £850,000) under false pretences.
The case, which first kicked off in 2005, has been plagued by delays, with the alleged scammer seemingly using “legal technicalities” to stall the proceedings for nearly two decades.
The Supreme Court formally struck out Ajudua’s motion on Friday after his legal team confirmed they had withdrawn the application.
His defence counsel, Olalekan Ojo (SAN), told the Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos, that the path was now clear for the trial court to rule on the pending bail application.
The court, led by Justice Mojisola Dada, has seen Ajudua re-arraigned multiple times as the case bounced between judges over the years.
Proceedings are now back in motion, and Ajudua’s lawyer continued the cross-examination of the third prosecution witness, Afanda Bashir Emmanuel, an investigator with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
In a twist, Emmanuel admitted he ‘inherited’ the case and was not part of the initial investigation. The judge has now ordered the prosecution to produce key police investigation records by the next hearing.
Justice Dada adjourned the high-profile case until November 20 and 21, 2025, for the cross-examination to continue.
