The Supreme Court has revoked the bail granted to socialite, Fred Ajuda, who is standing trial for allegedly defrauding a Palestinian, Zad Abu Zalaf of $1,043,000.
This was disclosed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), in an X tweet on Friday.
NPO reports that the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division , had in 2018 granted bail to Ajudua and transferred his trial to a different judge for a fresh start.
The case, which began in 2005 before Justice M.O. Obadina of the Lagos State High Court, was delayed for years due to various legal technicalities.
It was eventually reassigned to Justice J. E Oyefeso and later Justice M.A. Dada, before whom Ajudua was arraigned on June 4, 2018.
Following the granting of Ajuda’s bail, the EFCC, dissatisfied with the ruling, took the matter to the Supreme Court.
The Supreme Court on Friday overturned the Court of Appeal’s decisions, reinstated the ruling of Justice Dada denying Ajudua bail, and ordered that he be remanded in a correctional facility.
The court also directed the Chief Judge of Lagos State to return the case to Justice Dada for continuation of trial.
The apex court further noted that appeal in appeal no SC/912C/2019 has become academic since the payer in that appeal was against an order of the Court of Appeal, Lagos, transferring the case to another court to start the case de novo.