The special offences court in Ikeja, Lagos State, has postponed the trial of the former managing director of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Ahmed Kuru, to June 4, 2025.

On January 20, Kuru (the second defendant) was brought to court alongside Roy Ilegbodu, the managing director of Arik Air (the third defendant); Kamilu Omokide, the receiver manager of Arik Air (the first defendant); Union Bank Plc (the fourth defendant); and Super Bravo Limited (the fifth defendant).

Naijaonpoint reports that the defendants face allegations of defrauding Arik Air, which is currently under receivership, of N76 billion and $31.5 million.

During the resumed hearing on Wednesday, May 28, a former group executive director at Union Bank PLC, Austine Obigwe, disclosed that he had written off a debt of $2.3 million owed by Arik Air to his private company, Staal.

Obigwe, who is a witness for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), had previously informed the court that Arik was in a financially stable condition when he departed from Union Bank in 2009.

However, during cross-examination, Obigwe acknowledged that the airline was “irresponsible, poorly managed, and unethical” and that it owed his company $2.3 million, a sum he asserted was never repaid.

NAIJAONPOINT stated that the debt originated in 2011, two years following his departure from the bank.

He mentioned that he had written it off because of the airline’s operational challenges and his business relationship with Arik’s promoter, Johnson Arumemi-Ikhide, whom he also referred to as a fellow church member and acquaintance.

“I am not interested in collecting it. I wrote it off when I discovered that Arik Air started having challenges,” Obigwe told the court.

Regarding the status of Arik’s fleet, NAIJAONPOINT stated that he took part in an inspection of 26 aircraft in 2009, noting that Lufthansa had deemed them airworthy and he had no reason to question this evaluation.

In response to inquiries about the airline’s adherence to its loan commitments, he remarked that during his tenure at the bank, there were no signs that Arik was failing to meet its loan obligations, whether with Union Bank or other financial institutions.

When presented with a letter dated April 23, 2009, purportedly from AMCON concerning a ₦46.11 billion debt owed by Arik, Obigwe indicated that he was not aware of such a document, even though he was recognised as the group executive director responsible for overseeing the Arik transaction.

He elaborated that lenders have several options when a loan becomes non-performing, which include transferring the loan to another bank, reassigning it, or enforcing the security associated with the loan.

NAIJAONPOINT further affirmed that a lender possesses the legal authority to sell the security if a borrower defaults on a loan — a stance that is believed to bolster AMCON’s involvement with Arik Air.

The debt, initially held by Union Bank, was assigned to AMCON as part of the federal government’s directive for the corporation to manage non-performing loans within the banking sector.

The proceedings were postponed until June 4 for the trial to continue.