Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, on Thursday, adjourned to January 20, 2025, for the arraignment of a former Managing-Director of Assets Management Corporation of Nigeri (AMCON), Ahmed Kuru, for alleged N76bn and $31.5 million fraud.
Kuru is to be arraigned alongside Capt. Roy Ilegbodu, Managing-Director of Arik Air; Kamilu Omokide, Receiver-Manager of Arik Air; Union Bank of Nigeria Plc and Super Bravo Limited, over the alleged fraud.
The court had on Tuesday 3rd December, issued a bench warrant for the arrest of Kuru for failing to appear in court for his arraignment.
Count one reads: “That you, Union Bank Nigeria Plc, sometime in 2011 or thereabouts, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, with the intention of causing and/or inducing unwarranted sale of Arik Air loans and bank guarantees with Union Bank, made false statements to the Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), regarding Arik Air Limited’s performing loans, following which you transferred a bogus figure of N71, 000,000,000 to AMCON.”
Count two reads: “That you, Ahmed Lawal, Kuru, Kamilu Alaba Omokide as Receiver Manager of Arik Air Limited, and Captain Roy Ilegbodu, Chief Executive Officer of Arik Air Limited in Receivership, sometime in 2022 or thereabout, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, fraudulently converted to the use of NG Eagle Limited the total sum of N4,900,000,000, property of Arik Air Limited”.
Count five reads: “That you, Kamilu Alaba Omokide, Ahmed Lawal Kuru and Capt. Roy Ilegbodu, on the 12th day of February, 2022 or thereabout, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, being public officers, directed to be done in abuse of the authority of your office and with intention of obtaining undue advantage for yourself and cronies an arbitrary act, to wit: intentionally authorizing the tear down and destruction of 5N-JEA with Serial No. 15058 valued at $31.5million (Thirty One Million, Five Hundred Thousand Dollars), an arbitrary act, which act is prejudicial to the economic stability of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Arik Air Limited”.
Responding, the prosecution counsel, Wahab Shittu, SAN, did not object to the application on the grounds that Shasore had signed an undertaking to produce his client for an arraignment and ensure that he attends his trial.
Consequently, Justice Dada, in a short ruling, set aside the bench warrant earlier issued against Kuru, in view of his presence in court on Thursday.
Justice Dada, thereafter, adjourned the case till January 20, 2025, being the earlier scheduled date for the arraignment.
