The Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, on Wednesday, May 28, 2025, adjourned the high-profile trial involving Mallam Ahmed Kuru, former Managing Director of the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), and four others, to June 4, 2025.
The defendants are standing trial over their alleged involvement in a multi-billion-naira fraud totaling ₦76 billion and $31.5 million.
Presiding over the case, Justice Mojisola Dada postponed further hearings to allow for the continuation of witness testimonies and cross-examinations.
Kuru is facing trial alongside Captain Roy Ilegbodu, current Managing Director of Arik Air; Kamilu Omokide, Receiver Manager of Arik Air; Union Bank Nigeria Plc, and Super Bravo Limited. The five defendants are being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a six-count charge bordering on conspiracy, stealing, and abuse of office.
The case, which has attracted significant public and media attention, centers on alleged financial misappropriation and irregular handling of debts and assets relating to Arik Air, one of Nigeria’s major commercial airlines.
At Wednesday’s session, the second prosecution witness (PW2), Austine Obigwe, a former Group Executive Director at Union Bank Plc, testified about his professional relationship with Arik Air. He disclosed that in 2011, two years after he left Union Bank, Arik Air owed his company, Staal, a sum of $2.3 million.
However, Obigwe clarified that he had decided to write off the debt after the airline began experiencing financial difficulties. “I am not interested in collecting it. I wrote it off when I discovered that Arik Air started having challenges,” he said.
During cross-examination led by several defence counsels, including Olasupo Shasore, SAN (representing the second defendant), Olalekan Ojo, SAN (fourth defendant), and Tayo Oyedepo, SAN (fifth defendant), Obigwe confirmed he had taken on consultancy roles with Arik Air and other firms after his departure from Union Bank.
When asked if he had a personal relationship with Arik Air founder, Sir Johnson Arumemi-Ikhide, Obigwe answered affirmatively but clarified, “I currently don’t have any formal relationship with the airline. I maintain a relationship with Arumemi-Ikhide.”
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Obigwe also recounted a 2009 inspection of 26 aircraft in Arik Air’s fleet, which he found to be airworthy based on a report by Lufthansa. “I had no reason to doubt Lufthansa’s evaluation,” he stated, emphasizing that the review aimed to verify that the airline’s assets were intact.
Responding to inquiries about Arik Air’s loan performance during his tenure at Union Bank, Obigwe said that the airline was servicing its debt regularly, and no default complaints were received from other financial institutions at that time.
In response to a letter dated April 23, 2009, reportedly sent by AMCON to Union Bank regarding a ₦46.11 billion debt owed by Arik Air, the witness said he had no knowledge of such correspondence while he was still with the bank.
Speaking about the lender’s rights in cases of default, Obigwe explained that financial institutions can choose to restructure loans, reassign them, or enforce security tied to them. “A lender is legally empowered to dispose of the security in the event of default by the borrower,” he added.
The EFCC, represented by its Head of Media & Publicity, Dele Oyewale, confirmed that the matter has been adjourned to June 4, 2025, for the continuation of trial.
