The Supreme Court has overturned a decision of the Court of Appeal which granted bail to Lagos businessman and former socialite, Fred Ajudua, who is standing trial for allegedly defrauding a German company of $1 million over three decades ago.

In a unanimous ruling on Friday, the apex court held that the Appeal Court erred in granting bail and ordered Ajudua’s return to correctional custody.

The court also directed trial judge, Justice Mojisola Dada, of the Lagos State High Court, to resume hearing of the criminal case.

Ajudua was initially charged before Justice Josephine Oyefeso of the Lagos High Court, but the case was later re-filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and reassigned to Justice Dada.

At his re-arraignment on July 6, 2018, Justice Dada denied Ajudua’s bail application on health grounds, noting that the case had suffered repeated delays for over 13 years.

“This case is one of the oldest in Lagos State. Bail is refused and the defendant is to be remanded in prison custody,” she ruled.

Following the ruling, Ajudua’s counsel, Olalekan Ojo, SAN, approached the Court of Appeal in Lagos, where Justice Mohammed Garba overturned Justice Dada’s decision, holding that bail was a constitutional right. The court also allowed Ajudua to remain free under his previous bail conditions.

Dissatisfied with this decision, the EFCC approached the Supreme Court.

President Bola Tinubu on Friday defended his administration’s economic reforms, saying he took some decisions to sustain healthy growth for Nigeria.

He stated this at the State House in Abuja while receiving a special envoy from the Amir of the State of Qatar, Dr Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al-Khulaifi.

Tinubu noted that ongoing reforms to streamline Nigeria’s tax system have made it easier for foreign investors to do business in the country.

“We are making efforts to reform our tax system. Going by the experiences of the past and the need to depart from old ways, our reforms have been hard.

“I made tough decisions so that we could grow. We are gradually seeing the light at the end of the tunnel,” the President was quoted as saying in a statement by his spokesman, Bayo Onanuga.

“You can’t find a better partner than Nigeria. I always follow the global issues and your efforts. You have to do more in Nigeria to help fight poverty in the humanitarian area.

“You have done well in developing a knowledge-based economy in Qatar, but what about Nigeria?”

The President said Nigeria’s partnership with Qatar could be improved by looking into food sovereignty and economic prosperity.

Tinubu indicated Nigeria’s readiness to build on the momentum generated by his state visit to Qatar in 2024, pledging to implement all bilateral agreements between the two countries.

He directed the Minister of Budget and Economic Planning, Senator Abubakar Atiku Bagudu; the Minister of Information and National Orientation, Mohammed Idris; and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, to work together to ensure the timely execution of the agreements.

“To all the members of the delegation, I want to say a big thank you for coming to Nigeria. We are grateful to God for what we have experienced as partners in progress. I am also glad that the Amir of Qatar greatly remembers the issues discussed during my visit last year.

“Let me commend the brotherly relations between Qatar and Nigeria. The ambassador knows that I take Qatar very seriously. We are willing to go further in our bilateral relations,” he said.

According to Tinubu, the Qatari government has demonstrated maturity and foresight in working for global peace and deserves commendation.

“I am proud of your efforts to bring peace and stability to the world. I see your efforts in human development, peace, and prosperity. Like you, we are sandwiched between the challenge of terrorism and helping our neighbours. We are conscious of who our friends are and those helping us to ameliorate the problems,” he said.

Dr Al-Khulaifi, Qatar’s Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, conveyed Amir’s strong interest in expanding bilateral cooperation, announcing that a high-level Qatari business delegation would visit Nigeria in the coming weeks to explore opportunities in agriculture, food security, and other critical sectors.

He also conveyed the Amir’s desire to strengthen the strategic partnership with Nigeria, particularly in peace-building, agriculture, and petrochemicals. He expressed pride in the current level of relations and looked forward to expanding both government-to-government and people-to-people ties.

“We are proud of the level of relations we have reached with Nigeria. I am very impressed with our partnership with the country, which is not just government-to-government but also people-to-people.

“Our ambassador has been following up with the projects. We have much to do together in agriculture, food, and petrochemicals. We have some companies telling us that we should create a way for them to come into Nigeria,” he was quoted as saying.

Al-Khulaifi, whose responsibilities include mediating peace in Africa and the Middle East, added, “The message I have from His Highness, Amir of Qatar, is that he wants Nigeria to be a strategic partner in Africa,” he added.

In a bold and successful pre-dawn operation, Nigerian troops under the Headquarters of Operation Forest Yaki (OPFY) Main Strike Team stormed a major terrorist enclave in Katsina State, eliminating several insurgents, seizing a large cache of arms, and demolishing the notorious “Soja Camp.”

The clearance mission kicked off around 5:30 a.m. as troops advanced from Bini in the HAR axis, sweeping through Landal village, Akuzo, and arriving at Yan Wutsiya — the site of the heavily fortified terrorist camp.

A fierce gunfight erupted between the terrorists and the gallant troops. While several terrorists were neutralized, others escaped with serious injuries, as blood trails were found throughout the abandoned camp.

Following the successful engagement, troops conducted an extensive search and recovered a deadly arsenal, including:
Two AK-47 rifles
Ten loaded AK-47 magazines with 300 rounds of 7.62mm special ammunition
One 120mm mortar bomb believed to be intended for IED fabrication
One locally fabricated PKT rifle
One locally made pistol
120/88 ammunition links
Military uniforms
One Baofeng radio set with chargers

Troops also destroyed a motorcycle used by the fleeing terrorists, along with vital logistics and life-support structures in the camp, effectively crippling their operations.

Military authorities have vowed to intensify these aggressive clearance operations until all terrorist hideouts across the region are wiped out completely.