Wale Igbintade
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) yesterday told the Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja that the Board of Governors of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) formally approved the takeover of Arik Air Ltd by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) following the airline’s alleged severe financial deterioration.
Testifying before Justice Mojisola Dada, the fourth prosecution witness, Bawa Usman Kaltungo, an Assistant Director with the EFCC, said the anti-graft agency obtained a Certified True Copy (CTC) of the minutes of the CBN Board of Governors’ meeting where the decision to appoint a receiver-manager for Arik Air was taken shortly after the takeover.
According to him, the February 15, 2024 meeting was chaired by then CBN Governor Godwin Emefiele and attended by top officials, including Deputy Governors Sulaiman A. Barau (Corporate Services), Sarah O. Alade (Economic Policy), Okwu J. Nnanna (Financial System Stability), and Adebayo A. Adelabu (Operations).
Also present were Yunusa Sanusi (Director, Corporate Secretarial), Ahmed Abdullahi (Director of Banking Supervision), Adebayo Aderonke (Senior Manager, Banking Supervision), and AMCON’s former Managing Director, Ahmed Kuru.
Kaltungo said the minutes showed that Kuru briefed the board that Arik Air’s operations had deteriorated significantly and warned that the airline, which accounted for about 60 percent of domestic passenger traffic, could collapse within two weeks if urgent intervention was not undertaken.
He added that Kuru disclosed that the airline had paid out cash collaterals to its technical partner, Lufthansa, and allowed it to exit Nigeria, alleging that the owners had effectively abandoned operations.
The witness said Kuru also informed the board that discussions with three major creditor banks resulted in a consensus that CBN intervention was necessary.
The EFCC had arraigned former AMCON Managing Director Ahmed Kuru; Kamilu Omokide, a former receiver-manager of Arik Air; Captain Roy Ilegbodu, the airline’s CEO; Union Bank Ltd; Super Bravo Ltd; and Mohammed Abbas Jega.
They are facing a six-count charge bordering on conspiracy, stealing, abuse of office, and making false statements in connection with the alleged fraudulent conversion of N76 billion and $31.5 million belonging to Arik Air.
Beyond the takeover approval, Kaltungo further alleged that while serving as receiver-manager, Kuru diverted funds belonging to Arik Air to settle insurance liabilities owed by Umza Airline.
“In the course of investigation, we discovered that Arik Air’s money was used to pay the insurance of Umza Airline,” the witness told the court.
He stated that Umza Airlines confirmed the payment and that although repayment had commenced, it was not completed at the time of investigation.
He added that the EFCC invited the relevant account officer, who provided a signed loan account statement with a covering letter to determine whether the receiver-manager was properly discharging his responsibilities.
“We discovered he was not,” Kaltungo said.
The witness also informed the court that during the investigation, one of the defendants petitioned the Attorney-General of the Federation, alleging harassment and seeking to halt the probe.
The petition, accompanied by 39 attachments and a legal opinion from the Solicitor-General of the Federation, claimed the charges bore no nexus to any criminal conduct.
Proceedings were briefly interrupted when the prosecution sought to tender the Certified True Copy of the insurance certificate allegedly linked to the Umza Airlines payment.
Defence counsel — Prof. Taiwo Osipitan SAN, Mrs. Oyinkansola Badejo SAN, Olalekan Ojo SAN, and Mr. Tayo Oyetibo SAN, objected, arguing that the alleged diversion of funds for insurance premium payments was not contained in any of the six counts before the court and was therefore irrelevant.
“There is no way this document can go in,” the defence submitted.
In response, prosecution counsel Dr. Wahab Shittu SAN urged the court to admit the certified document, arguing that the defendants were charged with abuse of office and stealing.
In a bench ruling, Justice Dada held that since the insurance certificate was not specifically included in the charges before the court, it could not be admitted in evidence.
The case was adjourned until February 26, 2026, for continuation of the trial.
