How Ajudua defrauded me of $8.4m in prison — Bamaiyi

Lt.-Gen. Ishaya Bamaiyi (rtd), a former Chief of Army Staff, on
Monday told an Ikeja High Court in Lagos how an alleged serial
conman, Fred Ajudua, allegedly defrauded him of of $8.4 million
dollars.

Bamaiyi said that the alleged fraud occurred while Ajudua and
Bamaiyi were both incarcerated at the Kirikiri Maximum Prisons in
Lagos.

Reports have it that Bamaiyi gave the naration while being led
in evidence by EFCC counsel, Mr Seidu Atteh, in a lengthy testimony
which lasted from 9.42 a.m to 3.15 p.m.

He said: “On Nov. 3, 1999, I was arrested and sent to Kirikiri
Maximum Prisons for the alleged murder of Kudirat Abiola. I was at
Block 2 which was said to be for Very Important Personalities
(VIPs).

“Fred Ajudua and Ade Bendel were brought to the same prison but
on different days. We became friends as inmates and discussed my
case from time to time, as a lawyer, he asked me to give him
information on my case and I obliged, I brought the file and he
studied it and said I really don’t have a case as it is strictly
ethnic and political case.

“He promised to do something about it and said he will send his
wife who is also lawyer to see Hon. Justice Alabi, the then Chief
Judge (CJ) of Lagos.

“He later informed me that his wife had met with the CJ and
Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, the then Attorney-General of Lagos State.
Ajudua advised that I look for a senior lawyer who must not be a
northerner and he recommended Chief Afe Babalola (SAN).

“According to him, Babalola was close to Obasanjo, the President
at that time. After sometime, his wife visited and informed us that
because of the nature of the case, it was going to be
expensive.

“Ajudua’s wife said the then CJ said that Babalola said that he
will charge $15million and I told her I could not afford such an
amount.”

The former Chief of Army Staff said the topic was not broached
by Ajudua for a while and that Ajudua told him that he had friends
who will help raise funds for Bamaiyi’s legal representation.

“I asked him how will I refund the money? I told him I had some
funds and colleagues who will assist me in raising the money but
they did not want their names mentioned.

“When my friends were assured of their privacy, many of them
brought the money to me in the prison and I handed it over to
Ajudua’s representative,” Bamaiyi said.

Bamaiyi said that he was initially skeptical about the
transaction but his initial doubts were erased by Ajudua who swore
on the life of Bobo, his only son and Bendel who had purportedly
become a devout Christian.

“The defendant said he had only one son called Bobo, he swore to
me that if he cheated me, that God should take the life of his only
son, Bobo.

“My Lord because of that I believed him because I cannot swear
with any of my children, no matter what.

“Bendel told me that he had stopped doing 419 and I believed him
because he had started building a church at the Kirikiri Maximum
Prisons and he was preaching there.

“This made me believe both of them,” he said.

Bamaiyi told the court that Ajudua informed him that Hon.
Justice Ajayi, the then Lagos CJ had directed that Babalola’s
professional fees should be paid through Justice J. O. K Oyewole
and that Oyewole’s registrar will visit them in prison.

The retired general went on to give details of how he gave the
first tranche of money alleged to be Babalola’s professional fees
to Ronke Rosulu, Justice Oyewole’s Registrar.

“Ronke visited us twice in October 2004. The first visit was on
Oct. 6, 2004, it was the defendant who brought her to the Visiting
Room where we sat down and she confirmed she was sent by Justice
Oyewole.

“On the second visit, Ronke came with her daughter whom she said
was in the university, this visit was conducted by ACP Garba, the
prison officer in charge of the visit.

“Her third visit was on Nov. 20, 2004 this time she came with
one Jonathan, the defendant’s boy that I knew in prison. This time
the defendant did not come to the Visiting Room and the visit was
also conducted by ACP Garba.

“Ronke and Jonathan collected $300,000 in the presence of ACP
Garba the prison officer, the money was in the form of $100 notes
and $10,000 per bundle.

“Ronke, Jonathan and I counted the money in the presence of ACP
Garba the prison officer, when I was seeing Ronke and Jonathan off,
I met the defendant waiting for them by the corridor and the three
of them went downstairs and I went down to the visiting room.

“My Lord, that was the first release date of the money I made
which was on the instruction of the defendant.”

Bamaiyi informed the court that he had made subsequent releases
to Ajudua at various times while Ajudua was in prison, on admission
at the Lagos University Teaching Hospital (LUTH) for an undisclosed
ailment and while he was also on bail.

He said the funds were handed over to Ajudua, Jonathan or Bendel
via his wife Imuade, his son, his ADC Major Chechet, his orderly Mr
Mohammed Tatda at the prison premises or at LUTH.

Bamaiyi also informed the court that he kept meticulous records
of all the transactions in his handwritten prison diaries of 2004
and 2005.

The dairies were presented to the court by Atteh, the EFCC
counsel and marked as exhibits.

Baimayi reading from the entries in the diaries revealed that in
2004, Ajudua allegedly fraudulently received money six times from
him and received money from him 19 times in 2005.

The diary entries revealed that in December 2004 Ajudua
received, $20,000, $400,000, $350,000, $1million and $600,000. In
January 2005, the defendant received $200,000 on two occasions
$700,000 and $175,000.

In February 2005, Ajudua received $50,000, $500,000. In May
2005, $100,000, $20,000 and $29,200 were given to Ajudua by
Bamaiyi’s representatives.

In June 2005, $450,000, $180,000, $450,000 was received by
Ajudua. In July 2005, $1million, $390,000, $42,000 and $177,000 was
received on various occasions by Ajudua from Bamaiyi.

In September 2005, $15,000 was received by Ajudua. In November
2005, the defendant received $80,000 from Bamaiyi and on December
Ajudua received $15,000 from Bamaiyi.

Revealing the last time Ajudua fraudulently received money from
him, he said “The defendant came to Kirikiri Maximum Prisons and
collected $20,000 from me.

“He said it was the balance of the payment for Afe Babalola
professional fees, this is the last time he collected money from
me.”

Bamaiyi said the money were received by Ajudua after visiting
hours in the prison, he also revealed to the court the various
antics deployed by Ajudua to fuel the alleged scam.

“My Lord, there was a time I got worried because I was not
hearing from Afe Babalola; Ajudua was on bail and he came to see me
with one Barrister Richard Oma. Richard said he came from Chief Afe
Babalola’s Chambers.

“Unfortunately, he did not come with any official letter from
Chief Afe Babalola.

“The DCP in charge of Maximum Prison DCP Ukobi said the
defendant was coming to see me after visiting hours, the defendant
came with one Kenneth who claimed he was a secret service
officer.

“Kenneth said he was sent to see me by the National Security
Adviser Lt.-General. Aliyu Gwaso, he said that Chief Babalola and
the then President Obasanjo discussed my matter and he was sent to
advise me not to cause any trouble for the government.

“I told him I did not have any problem in that respect as I did
not commit any offence, he told me to write an undertaking and I
told him I won’t, when he insisted I told him he should draft it
for me and if I’m satisfied I will sign.

“He said he would draft the undertaking and bring it back to me
but I never saw him again My Lord, ” he said.

Bamaiyi said that following his enquiries about his promised
legal representation from Afe Babalola, Ajudua told him that he was
waiting for a counsel from him so that Ajudua and Bamaiyi’s counsel
will have a meeting with the SAN.

“My counsel, the then Barrister Y. C Mikyau, who is now a SAN,
came from Abuja and for two days he did not see the defendant and
had to return to Abuja.

“After that incident I could not get in touch with the defendant
again because I was told he went to Israel for a medical
checkup.

“My Lord, I fell sick in the Maximum Prison and I was also
treated in LUTH in March 2006, when I was in the hospital one
Gabriel who was assisting the defendant while he was in prison came
to me and managed to give me Ajudua’s number in India.

“I called the defendant and I confronted him saying that Hon.
Justice J. O. K Oyewole did not receive any money from Ronke,
Jonathan or any other person.

“He responded that the Honorable Judge could not have said that
and that he will call me later.

“After that My Lord, I never got across to him again, maybe he
changed his number because the number never went through. I never
heard from him until about six years later when he was arrested,”
Bamaiyi said.

The former Chief of Army Staff reiterated to the court the
source the funds he allegedly lost to the scam.

He said: “My Lord as mentioned earlier, most of the money I got
were from friends, colleagues, relations and well wishers who
pleaded with me not to identify them as some of them were in
government.

“The other sources wee from my farm products, I’ve been a farmer
since 1984 when I was in service, I do different things on my farm,
I grow cotton, soya beans and I’m also involved in animal
husbandry.

“My Lord, I was posted to Lagos since 1986 and I remained in
Lagos till my retirement in 1999. I was able to acquire some
property, two duplexed on Sanusi Fafunwa in Victoria Island which
were allocated to me by the Lagos State Government.

“I went into an agreement with HFP, a construction company who
developed the two duplexed and rented it for six years and returned
them to me, I sold these duplexes.

“My Lord, I bought a duplex and flat in Dolphin Estate which I
also sold, I had a duplex in Tajudeen Olanrewaju Estate Yaba which
I also sold, I have a plot of land at Dolphin Estate, and I also
had two bungalows in Kaduna which I also sold.

“My Lord, these were the sources of the money,” Bamaiyi
said.

He told the court that following Ajudua’s arrest by the EFCC,
his family through Ajudua’s wife called Princess, his sister Gina,
their counsel Mr Alex Agbaka, had tried to settle the matter out of
court to no avail.

He noted that in two instances he was offered $2million and
$2.5million by the family but rejected the offer stating that he
needed a full refund of his money.

Justice Josephine Oyefeso adjourned the case until Dec. 20 for
cross-examination of Bamaiyi.

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