A Lagos High Court sitting in Ikeja has adjourned the ongoing fraud trial involving former Managing Director of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Mallam Ahmed Kuru, and four others until July 1, 2025.
Presided over by Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court, the case involves serious allegations of conspiracy, stealing, and abuse of office related to N76 billion and $31.5 million in financial mismanagement.
The defendants in the case include Capt. Roy Ilegbodu, Managing Director of Arik Air, Kamilu Omokide, Arik’s Receiver Manager, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, and Super Bravo Limited.
At Monday’s proceedings, the third prosecution witness, Muhammed Abbas Jega, who once served as AMCON’s Executive Director of Credits, testified under cross-examination. He revealed that Arik Air’s debt, which was bought by AMCON as a non-performing loan, had become problematic despite significant financial interventions.
Jega admitted that AMCON had purchased N85 billion worth of Arik Air debt from Union Bank and Bank PHB, and later extended an additional N11 billion loan as working capital. Despite these efforts, Arik reportedly failed to meet its repayment obligations.
He acknowledged that even though he acted with AMCON board approval, he never personally reviewed the loan purchase agreement detailing Arik’s loan structure. Jega described the debt as non-performing by the time he exited AMCON in 2015.
During his testimony, Jega claimed Union Bank misled AMCON about the state of the loan. He said the full extent of the issues only became known after a meeting in London between AMCON’s leadership and the loan obligor.
However, he could not explain why he failed to report the concerns to AMCON’s board or the Central Bank of Nigeria.
Jega also confirmed that Arik Air and its promoter had other outstanding loans with AMCON beyond those under investigation in the trial.
When asked if other defendants were involved in the loan acquisition or restructuring, he clarified that only Union Bank had a direct role.
The court has adjourned the trial to July 1, 2025, for continuation.
