The Special Offences Court in Ikeja, Lagos has granted permission to Ahmed Kuru, the former Managing Director of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), to travel abroad for urgent medical treatment.
The judge, Mojisola Dada, ordered the release of Mr Kuru’s international passport to facilitate his travel to London, United Kingdom.
|
|
Though the nature of his illness was not disclosed, his lawyer, Oyinkan Badejo-Okusanya, described the medical situation as requiring “extreme urgency.”
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which is prosecuting Mr Kuru and his co-defendants, did not oppose the application.
|
|
|
|---|
However, EFCC’s lawyer Wahab Shittu, who is a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), raised concerns about intelligence suggesting that two of the defendants—Kamilu Omokide, former Receiver Manager of Arik Air, and Roy Ilegbodu, Arik’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO) —were attempting to dispose of aircraft tied to the alleged fraud.
He warned that the travel application might serve as a cover for such actions.
Mr Shittu urged the court to maintain the status quo and issue preservative orders to protect the subject assets, some of which are reportedly in France.
Stay Ahead with Premium Times
Follow us on Google News and never miss breaking stories, investigations, and in-depth reporting.
Add as a preferred source on Google
However, Mr Kuru’s lawyer noted that the EFCC’s concerns did not relate to her client, who was travelling to the UK, not France. He asked the court to disregard the allegations.
Also reacting, Olalekan Ojo, also SAN, lawyer to Union Bank—one of the defendants—dismissed the EFCC’s concerns as speculative and unsupported by evidence.
He insisted the bank was a responsible institution with no involvement in unethical dealings.
Ms Dada, after hearing arguments from all parties, declined to issue restraining orders, ruling that the EFCC had not presented any documentary evidence to support its claims.
Background
On 20 January, the EFCC arraigned Mr Kuru and four others on six counts of conspiracy, stealing, and abuse of office.
The other defendants are Kamilu Omokide, Roy Ilegbodu, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, and Super Bravo Limited.
According to the anti-graft agency, the defendants misrepresented Arik Air’s loans as non-performing in 2011, which led AMCON to acquire the debts for N71 billion. AMCON later discovered that the obligations were, in fact, backed by foreign guarantees and not in default.
In another count, the EFCC accused Mr Kuru, Mr Omokide, and Mr Ilegbodu of fraudulently diverting N4.9 billion of Arik’s funds in 2022 to NG Eagle Limited, a separate entity.
The Commission further alleged that the CEO of Arik diverted N22.5 million for the benefit of one Magashi Ali Mohammed and that the defendants authorised the teardown and destruction of aircraft 5N-JEA (Serial No. 15058), valued at $31.5 million—an act deemed harmful to Nigeria’s economic stability.
The charges were brought under Sections 73, 96, 278(1), and 278(6) of the Lagos State Criminal Law, 2015.
All five defendants pleaded not guilty and were each granted N20 million bail with one surety in like sum.
Testimonies from witnesses
The prosecution has presented several witnesses. In June, Abbas Jega, former Executive Director of Credit at AMCON, told the court that Union Bank fraudulently sold performing loans to AMCON, misrepresenting them as non-performing.
Mr Jega, testifying as the third prosecution witness, said the deception was uncovered during a tripartite meeting in London involving Union Bank officials, AMCON representatives, and international lenders.
He stated that AMCON demanded a refund after discovering it had purchased a guarantee rather than a defaulted loan.
Earlier, the second prosecution witness, Austine Obigwe—a former Group Executive Director of Union Bank—told the court that Arik was not in default at the time of the transaction and that Lufthansa had certified the airline’s aircraft as airworthy during inspections in 2009.
READ ALSO: AMCON lists Silverbird’s Abuja Mall for sale over Murray-Bruce debt
Under cross-examination, Mr Obigwe admitted that his consultancy, Staal, was owed $2.3 million by Arik, a debt he later forgave.
The first witness, Peter Omokaro, a former Union Bank assistant general manager, testified that Union Bank sold loan guarantees to AMCON without Arik’s participation.
He admitted that efforts were later made to “legalise” the irregular transaction, which predated Mr Kuru’s tenure as AMCON MD.
Separately, the EFCC has charged Mr Kuru in another case involving the alleged diversion of N20 billion in AMCON funds through Heritage Bank to finance the acquisition of Keystone Bank by Sigma Golf Nigeria Ltd.
Mr Kuru pleaded not guilty, while Sigma Golf entered a plea deal and was convicted.
Discover more from Premium Times Nigeria
Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.
More News
