By Our Reporter
Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, on Thursday, December 12, 2024, adjourned till January 20, 2025 the arraignment of a former Managing Director of Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria AMCON, Ahmed Kuru, for an alleged N76bn and $31.5 million fraud.
He is to be arraigned alongside Capt. Roy Ilegbodu, Managing Director of Arik Air, Kamilu Omokide, Receiver Manager of Arik Air, Union Bank Nigeria Plc and Super Bravo Limited over an alleged N75bn and $31.5m fraud.
The court had on Tuesday, December 3, 2024, issued a bench warrant for the arrest of Kuru for failing to appear in court for his arraignment over an alleged N75bn and $31.5m Fraud.
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, 000,000,000.00 (Seventy-One Billion Naira) 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 N4,900,000,000.00 (Four Billion Nine Hundred Million Naira only), 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”.
Earlier at Thursday’s sitting , Kuru’s counsel, Olasupo Shasore, SAN had, in a motion on notice dated December 12, 2024, signed an undertaking and assured the court that he would produce his client for an arraignment on January 20, 2025.
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.
“My lord, if the learned silk is assuring the court that the second defendant will be available on January 20 for his arraignment, we will not be objecting the application.
“We could not contact him the way others were contacted and his counsel has signed an undertaking that he will produce him. Knowing the consequences of the undertaking, the prosecution will not be objecting to the revocation of the bench warrant against the second defendant.”
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.