Skip to main content

Lagos Court Throws Out Fred Ajudua Application To Dismiss All Fraud Charges

A High Court in Ikeja today dismissed several applications submitted by serial fraud suspect, Fred Ajudua, including a plea to dismiss all of the fraud charges against him, claiming that some of them were duplicitous.

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content1'); });

A High Court in Ikeja today dismissed several applications submitted by serial fraud suspect, Fred Ajudua, including a plea to dismiss all of the fraud charges against him, claiming that some of them were duplicitous.

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('content2'); });

Also dismissed was Ajudua’s challenge of the court’s jurisdiction to try him, and a request to arraign General Ishaya Bamaiyi along with him.

Mr. Ajudua is facing 14 charges of fraud, conspiracy and obtaining money by false pretenses.  He and others still at large are accused of receiving, while still in Kirikiri detention, a sum of $8.4million from Lieutenant General Ishaya Bamaiyi, a retired former chief of army staff, to help Bamaiyi in bribing a judge who was to preside in a case involving him.

Mr. Ajudua had allegedly claimed he had ties with the judge, Oyewole, and assured Bamaiyi of reaching him with the bribe to pervert justice for him. For the justice-perversion deal, Ajudua was allegedly paid the sum of $8.4million by Bamaiyi between November 2004 and June 2005..

The Ikeja High Court presided over by Mrs. Oluwatoyin Ipaye dismissed Ajudua’s application to quash the charges against him. The judge also said she could not arraign retired General Bamaiyi on the basis of sentiments, and that there had to be concrete facts. Mr. Ajudua’s claim that charges 2 to 13 of the 14 charges preferred against him were duplicitous also failed.

After ruling on the multiple applications, the judge called on Mr. Ajudua to take his plea on the charges against him.

However, as the applications had failed, Mr. Ajudua’s counsel today, Mr. Olalekan Ojo, obtained the permission of the court to have a discussion with his client.  Following that discussion, Mr. Ojo announced to the court that his client was not aware of the charges and could not file any plea.

The judge observed that it was false to feign ignorance of the charges on which he had already filed objections and requested the co-arraignment of another person.

Mr. Ojo claimed the charges were not directly served on his client and that he could not therefore have had the information in the charges.

Responding, the prosecution counsel disclosed that the defendant’s counsel had requested to be served on behalf of his client on February 11.

Objecting further, Mr. Ojo said it was “service by estopel”, claiming it was not directly served on his client for reading. He acknowledged that one of Ajudua’s counsel, Richard

But the judge queried; “How then did you know about the preliminary objections you raised (including claims of duplicity of charges 2 to 13 of the 14 charges and request for other suspects to be arraigned alongside) when you did not know what information are in the charges?”

The judge thereafter adjourned the matter till March 11 to allow Mr. Ajudua to further familiarize with the charges and then take his plea.

Throughout the session today, Mr. Ajudua was leaning on every frame around him, including in the dock. He appeared unable to stand by himself and was being supported by prison warders when he walked.  It was also observed that his relatives tried to prevent cameras from photographing him in the court premises.

 

googletag.cmd.push(function() { googletag.display('comments'); });