Startling revelations emerged yesterday at the Lagos High Court as former executive director of Credits at the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Mr. Muhammed Abbas Jega disclosed during cross-examination in the ongoing trial, FEDERAL REPUBLIC OF NIGERIA VS KAMILU ALABA OMOKIDE & OTHERS: CHARGE NO. ID/24942C/2024, that the controversial multi-billion-naira debt attributed to Arik Air was not a traditional loan as previously claimed but a guarantee facilit misrepresented by Union Bank during AMCON’s debt acquisition in 2010.
Ahmed Kuru, former managing director of AMCON, along side four others, is facing charges related to fraud involving N76 billion and $31.5 million.
The other defendants include Kamilu Omokide, former Receiver Manager of Arik Air Ltd., Roy Ilegbodu, Chief Executive Officer of the airline, Union Bank, and Super Bravo Ltd.
They are standing trial on a five-count charge, which includes theft, abuse of office, and dishonest acquisition of another’s property. Union Bank faces a separate count of making false statements to a public officer.
Jega, who served as AMCON’s executive director in charge of Credit, said the truth came to light during a February 2011 meeting in London with HSBC and Export Credit Agencies (ECAs), where Union Bank disclosed that the facility was a guarantee, contrary to what AMCON had believed at the point of purchase.
According to him, Union Bank eventually refunded AMCON the purchase price for the Arik facility, an unusual move he said would not have occurred if the loans were genuinely non-performing.
Regardless, the guarantees later crystalised into bad debts, pushing AMCON to restructure the liabilities and seek support from the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) and the Bank of Industry (BOI).
By July 2011, AMCON was still holding both the Union Bank refunds and funds earmarked to settle future repayments. “We were holding the cash,” Jega testified.
However, he clarified that neither the 1st nor 3rd defendants played any role in the original transaction, as they were not yet part of AMCON at the time.
Lead counsel Prof. Taiwo Osipitan, SAN and Olasupo Sasore, SAN cross-examined the witness, who also confirmed he declined a post-AMCON consultancy offer from Arik Air’s chairman after being asked to help negotiate the airline’s exit from receivership.
The trial continues today with further cross-examination o