Court Admits Board Resolutions As Evidence In ₦76bn AMCON Fraud Trial
LAGOS, NIGERIA — The Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, has admitted Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) board resolutions as evidence, directly challenging prosecution claims that the 2017 receivership of Arik Air was a unilateral decision by the corporation’s former Managing Director, Ahmed Kuru.
The presiding judge, Justice Mojisola Dada, admitted the certified true copies of the documents as exhibits despite strong objections from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) prosecution team.
Justice Dada ruled that the board resolutions were relevant public records that directly emanated from AMCON as a corporate entity and met the statutory certification requirements under Section 104 of Nigeria’s Evidence Act.
The legal breakthrough occurred during the cross-examination of the fourth prosecution witness, Bawa Usman Kaltungo, an investigator with the EFCC.
The defense counsel, Uyi Giwa-Osagie, tendered the corporate documents to counter Kaltungo’s prior assertions that Kuru possessed unchecked, unfettered powers and had single-handedly sanctioned the takeover of the local airline.
Ahmed Kuru is standing trial alongside Kamilu Alaba Omokide (the former receiver-manager of Arik Air), Captain Roy Ilegbodu (Arik Air CEO), Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, and Super Bravo Limited.
The defendants face a six-count charge encompassing conspiracy, stealing, abuse of office, and the alleged fraudulent diversion of ₦4.9 billion to set up a new carrier, NG Eagle.
They are also accused of mismanaging assets, including the dismantling of an Arik aircraft valued at $31.5 million. All defendants have pleaded not guilty.
During intense cross-examination, gaps emerged in the prosecution’s case. While Kaltungo insisted that the underlying ₦71 billion debt claimed by Union Bank was fraudulent and that Arik Air was not in bad debt at the time of the takeover, he conceded under oath that the EFCC never conducted a forensic audit to verify the airline’s exact financial status.
Furthermore, the investigator admitted that extensive financial tracking by the anti-graft agency found no traces of illicit personal enrichment or proceeds from the dismantled aircraft in the private bank accounts of Kuru or any of his co-defendants.
The court adjourned the matter for the continuation of the trial.
