Justice Mojisola Dada of a Lagos Special Offences Court has fixed March 19, 2025, for further trial of former Managing Director of Assets Management Cooperation of Nigeria (AMCON), Ahmed Kuru, four others for allegedly defrauding Arik Airline N76 billion and $31.5 million, respectively.
The judge fixed the date after listening to the testimony of the first prosecution witness, Mr Peter Omokaro, the former Assistant General Manager with Union Bank Plc. Omokaro also testified that the Arik debt matter with Union Bank predates the coming of Ahmed Kuru as MD/CEO of AMCON.
Led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Dr Wahab Shittu (SAN), the witness said he worked with the bank from 1980 to 2015 before he resigned. But during cross-examination, the court also discovered that Omokaro had issues with Union Bank his former employer, which also ended in court many years back.
Omokaro narrated to the court that he was invited by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to make a statement in relation to the alleged fraud case. The witness said Arik Air approached the bank for a purchase of aircraft.
According to him, Union Bank only guaranteed facilities secured by the airline from two foreign banks, HSBC Bank and US EXIM Bank, to facilitate the acquisition of aircraft from Airbus and Boeing.
He said: “Union Bank in turn collected indemnity from Arik Air and the aircraft were delivered. At no point did we disburse cash for the acquisition of the aircraft and in August 2009, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) sent a team to take over the bank there was a guideline that talked about eligible assets and for AMCON to buy non-performing loans and commercial papers.
“Thereafter the executive management of Union Bank went ahead to sell the guarantee to AMCON. This happened before the end of December 2010 and in early 2011, when Union Bank discovered the error and tried to see how to legalize the wrong, a meeting took place in London between AMCON, Union Bank, HSBC Bank, and US EXIM Bank with the exclusion of the main obligor, which was Arik Air.” Omokaro also said that he was not at the London meeting but relied on hearsay from the said meeting.
Omokaro further told the court that it was from the minutes of the meeting recorded that Union Bank wanted to step in as obligor to take over the responsibility of Arik Air. He added that the foreign credit agencies did not call in the guarantee neither did Union Bank in return call in indemnity.
When Omokaro was cross-examined by the counsel to the first and third defendants, Prof. Taiwo Osipitan (SAN), he (Omokaro) confirmed to the court that the first and third defendants were not part of the transaction. “The first and third defendants were not part of the transaction. I was not at the London meeting,” he submitted.
The witness, while responding to the questions from Mr Olasupo Shasore (SAN), counsel to Kuru, and counsel to Union Bank, Mr Olalekan Ojo (SAN) said that the transaction took place in 2010 and that the third defendant was not the MD of AMCON as at that time. The witness also told court that he is seeing the second defendant for the first time.
Making further confession as to why he was not in the best position to stand as witness, Omokaro added, “The account of the Arik Air is domiciled in Ikeja. I am not in Corporate Banking Department as at that time. The judge subsequently adjourned to March 19, 2025, for the continuation of the trial.
