$5.9m fraud: Defence absence stalls Ajudua’s trial

The trial of Fred Ajudua was on Monday stalled due to the absence of his counsel, Olalekan Ojo.

NAN reports that Ajudua is standing trial for allegedly defrauding a former Chief of Army Staff, Lt.-Gen. Ishaya Bamaiyi, of 5.9 million dollars (about N1 billion).

He is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before Justice Oluwatoyin Ipaye of an Ikeja High Court.

The defendant was arraigned on 11 March on a 14-count charge of conspiracy and obtaining money by false pretences.

At the resumption of proceedings on Monday, Ajudua told the court that he had some unresolved issues with his counsel which might have led to his absence.

The EFCC counsel, Seidu Atteh, also informed the court that the initial charge against Ajudua had been amended.

Atteh said the complainant (Bamaiyi) and some other prosecution witnesses were in court to testify against Ajudua.

However, the amended charge could not be read to Ajudua because he had no legal representation in court. The judge consequently adjourned the matter to July 4 for his re-arraignment.

In the initial charge, the EFCC alleged that Ajudua conspired with others now at large to perpetrate the fraud between November 2004 and June 2005.

According to the EFCC, the defendant defrauded Bamaiyi while they were both on remand at Kirikiri Prison in Lagos over separate alleged criminal charges.

The anti-graft agency said Ajudua obtained the money from Bamaiyi by claiming that it represented the professional fees charged by Chief Afe Babalola (SAN) to handle his case.

He is also alleged to have claimed that the money would help to facilitate Bamaiyi’s release from prison.