Alleged N76bn fraud: Lagos court accepts key exhibits against Ahmed Kuru, others

Nkereuwem Effiong

Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, on Wednesday, 25 February 2026, admitted additional documents tendered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the alleged N76bn and $31.5m fraud trial involving a former Managing Director of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Ahmed Kuru, and others.

Kuru, alongside Kamilu Alaba Omokide, Captain Roy Ilegbodu, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc and Super Bravo Limited, is being prosecuted on a six-count charge bordering on conspiracy, stealing and abuse of office.

One of the counts reads: “That you, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, sometime in 2011 or thereabouts, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with the intention of causing and/or inducing the unwarranted sale of Arik Air loans and bank guarantees with Union Bank, made false statements to the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) regarding Arik Air Limited’s performing loans, following which you transferred a bogus figure of N71,000,000,000.00 (Seventy-One Billion Naira) to AMCON.”

Another count reads: “That you, Ahmed Lawal Kuru, Kamilu Alaba Omokide as Receiver Manager of Arik Air Limited, and Captain Roy Ilegbodu, Chief Executive Officer of Arik Air Limited in Receivership, sometime in 2022 or thereabouts, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, fraudulently converted to the use of NG Eagle Limited the total sum of N4,900,000,000.00 (Four Billion Nine Hundred Million Naira only), property of Arik Air Limited.”

At the resumed hearing on Wednesday, the fourth prosecution witness (PW4), Usman Bawa Kaltungo, continued his examination-in-chief led by Wahab Shittu, SAN.

Kaltungo had earlier commenced his testimony on 28 November 2025, detailing the Commission’s findings from its investigation into transactions involving Arik Air, Union Bank, AMCON and several foreign lenders.

When asked whether he was aware of any petition during the course of investigations and to whom it was addressed, he stated:

“While investigations were ongoing, the first defendant wrote a complaint to the Attorney-General of the Federation (AGF) and Minister of Justice, alleging harassment and intimidation by the prosecutors. The letter was addressed to the AGF and the Minister of Justice. Based on inter-agency collaboration, we were made aware of the petition.”

Asked whether the letter was written while the case was already before the court, the witness — currently Acting Zonal Director, Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the EFCC, Ikoyi — answered in the affirmative, adding that the letter sought the termination of the investigation.

Kaltungo told the court that the petition, with 39 attachments, was investigated by the AGF, after which a legal opinion was issued by the Solicitor-General and Permanent Secretary of the Federal Ministry of Justice.

He said the EFCC’s counsel obtained Certified True Copies (CTCs) of both the petition and the legal opinion, which he received as head of the investigative team. The documents were subsequently tendered and admitted in evidence as Exhibit P46.

The witness confirmed that the documents were duly certified and that the appropriate fees were paid. He added that the seal of the Federal Ministry of Justice ran through all the documents, while some attachments were certified by the Federal High Court.

Kaltungo listed the annexures to include a petition by Sahara Reporters, a copy of Arik’s deed of appointment, extracts from the 61st Board Meeting of AMCON, correspondence relating to Arik Air’s indebtedness, a letter to the EFCC dated 16 June 2023, Management Committee email extracts, a notice of termination and other related documents.

On the relevance of the documents, he said: “They are relevant to the case and the investigation. The legal opinion relates directly to the subject matter before the court.”

He further testified that the investigation extended to the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), where a CTC was obtained from the 494th meeting of the Committee of Governors regarding the decision to appoint a Receiver Manager for Arik Air. The document was admitted as Exhibit P47.

According to the witness, directors present at the meeting included former CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele, Deputy Governors Sulaiman A. Barau, Sarah O. Alade, Okwu J. Nnanna and Adebayo A. Adelabu, as well as other senior officials and Ahmed Kuru.

He said the meeting resolved that urgent intervention was required to rescue Arik Air, which allegedly accounted for 60 per cent of domestic passenger traffic at the time.

Kaltungo further told the court that the second defendant made a public statement aired on Channels Television, which was downloaded by the EFCC’s ICT and Forensic Departments. A flash drive containing the recording and a certificate of compliance was admitted as Exhibit P48.

When the recording was played in court, the witness confirmed it was the voice of the second defendant.

He alleged that funds belonging to Arik Air were diverted to offset insurance liabilities owed by Umza Airlines. However, when the prosecution sought to tender a Certified True Copy of a Certificate of Insurance, defence counsel objected on grounds of irrelevance.

Counsel to the defendants,  Prof. Taiwo Osipitan, SAN; Oyinkan Badejo, SAN; Olalekan Ojo, SAN; and Tayo Oyetibo, SAN — argued that the document was not tied to any of the six counts before the court and should be rejected.

Dele Oyewale, Head, Media & Publicity, on Wednesday, 25 February 2026, said in her ruling, Justice Dada held that the document was not relevant to any of the charges at that stage and rejected it.

The prosecution later tendered the AMCON loan account statement for Arik Air in receivership, certified by AMCON and the EFCC. The court admitted it as Exhibit P49.

According to the witness, the statement showed no evidence that the receiver manager serviced the loan, as interest allegedly continued to accrue without repayment. Justice Dada adjourned the matter until 26 February 2026 for the continuation of the trial.