RismadarVoice Reporters, April 29, 2026
A prosecution witness in the ongoing fraud trial involving former Managing Director of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, Ahmed Kuru, on Tuesday told a Lagos court that Arik Air had repaid 38 per cent of its foreign loan obligations before its takeover by AMCON.
The witness, Bawa Usman Kaltungo, who is the fourth prosecution witness, an investigator with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, disclosed to Justice Mojisola Dada at the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja.
Kuru is standing trial alongside Kamilu Alaba Omokide, Captain Roy Ilegbodu, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, and Super Bravo Limited over an alleged N76 billion and $31.5 million fraud. The defendants face a six-count charge bordering on conspiracy, stealing, and abuse of office.
Led in evidence by prosecution counsel Wahab Shittu (SAN), Kaltungo told the court that documents recovered during the investigation showed that Arik Air had been meeting its repayment obligations to foreign lenders before the intervention by AMCON.
He identified a key document, marked as Exhibit P52, as a letter dated October 4, 2010, from Union Bank to Arik Air, advising on a maturing quarterly repayment linked to an aircraft financing arrangement. According to him, the correspondence confirmed that the airline’s loan repayments were structured every quarter and were being serviced accordingly.
“The letter served as a reminder for the last quarter of 2010, and our findings showed that payment was made in December of that year,” Kaltungo said.
The witness, however, alleged that despite evidence of consistent repayment, Union Bank converted a N51 billion guarantee into a loan and subsequently transferred it to AMCON as a non-performing facility.
He told the court that the bank, which acted as guarantor for the foreign loan, failed to remit funds to the actual creditors after converting the guarantee.
“Our investigation revealed that Arik had already paid 38 per cent of the loan to foreign creditors,” he said. “But after converting the guarantee, Union Bank did not settle the creditors and instead withheld the N51 billion.”
Kaltungo further stated that the loan facility in question was not directly issued by Union Bank but sourced from foreign financial institutions, including HSBC, which Arik serviced up until June 2010.
The EFCC alleges, among other charges, that Union Bank made false representations to AMCON regarding the performance status of Arik Air’s loans, leading to the transfer of an inflated figure of N71 billion. Another charge accuses the defendants of fraudulently converting N4.9 billion belonging to Arik Air to the benefit of NG Eagle Limited. The trial continues.
