The ongoing criminal proceeding involving the former Managing Director/CEO of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), and others, the Special Offences Court sitting before Justice Mojisola Dada in Ikeja, Lagos State, resumed today, 26th October 2026, with the 4th witness, Mr Bawa Usman Kaltungo, still under cross-examination.
In the course of proceedings, the Prosecution Witness 4 (PW4), while answering questions under cross-examination, maintained that the 2nd Defendant, Mr Ahmed Kuru, had unfettered powers as Managing Director/Chief Executive Officer of AMCON, and unilaterally sanctioned Arik Air receivership.
To counter and discountenance PW4’s earlier testimony under cross-examination that the 2nd Defendant solely sanctioned Arik Receivership, Mr Uyi Giwa-Osagie tendered in evidence the Board Resolutions of AMCON to prove otherwise. However, the Prosecution objected to the relevancy and admissibility of the documents, insisting the documents were “too remote” to be admitted by the Court.
Giwa-Osagie, on behalf of the 2nd Defendant, argued and made submissions to the effect that the 2nd Defendant is not on trial for the propriety of the power to appoint a Receiver but is facing other critical charges as contained in the Charge Sheet. Thus, these documents go to the root of the trial to prove the innocence of the 2nd Defendant. He further submitted that, moreover, the documents in question are public documents being tendered from the Bar.
After listening to arguments from both sides on the relevance and admissibility of the documents, the Court delivered a Bench Ruling upholding the relevance of the documents and admitted them as evidence. In its ruling, the Court stated that the documents emanated from the Board of AMCON as a Body Corporate and were duly certified in accordance with Section 104 of the Evidence Act.
It would be recalled that the EFCC had dragged the former MD of AMCON, and others to Court following a petition by Mr Femi Falana SAN on behalf of the promoters/Shareholders of Arik Air involving the ex-AMCON MD/CEO, Ahmed Kuru, Kamilu Omokide, a former Receiver Manager of Arik Air Ltd; Captain Roy Ilegbodu, the airline’s CEO, Union Bank Ltd; and Super Bravo Ltd. Trials continue tomorrow, 27th October 2026.
