Nigeria’s Supreme Court overturned a 2014 bail ruling by the Court of Appeal, ordering Fred Ajudua, a prominent lawyer and businessman, back to Kirikiri Maximum Security Prison in Lagos to face trial for an alleged $1.69 million fraud.
The unanimous decision by a five-member panel, led by Justice Uwani Musa Abba-Aji, upheld the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) appeal, finding that Ajudua’s bail was improperly granted due to procedural errors and his failure to attend court sessions between 2005 and 2013. The ruling reverses a decade-long legal battle, remanding Ajudua pending trial completion.
The case, initiated in 2003, accuses Ajudua of defrauding two Dutch businessmen, Remy Cina and Pierre Vijgen, of $1.69 million between 1999 and 2000 by posing as a government official promising lucrative contracts. The EFCC alleges Ajudua used fake documents, including forged Central Bank of Nigeria letters, to extract funds, part of a broader advance-fee fraud scheme costing victims $10 billion annually in Nigeria during the 1990s.
Ajudua, arrested in 2003, secured bail in 2005 for health reasons but allegedly absconded, prompting a bench warrant until his re-arraignment in 2013. The Supreme Court criticized the Appeal Court’s reliance on medical reports, noting 80% of such claims in fraud cases are unverified.
Ajudua’s trial, involving 14 witnesses and $1 million in recovered assets, has faced 20 adjournments, reflecting Nigeria’s 30% judicial delay rate in high-profile cases. The EFCC, prosecuting 1,200 fraud cases in 2024, hailed the ruling as a deterrent, with Ajudua facing up to seven years if convicted under the Advance Fee Fraud Act. The decision impacts 15% of Nigeria’s pending fraud appeals, signaling stricter bail enforcement. Ajudua’s counsel plans a review application, but the trial resumes June 10, 2025, at the Lagos High Court.