The Economic and Financial Crime (EFCC) has taken two individuals and four companies, including AMCON’s ex-MD, Ahmed Kuru, to court over an alleged fraud of N76bn and $31.5m from Arik Airline.
The defendants, Kamilu Omokide (former Receiver Manager of Arik Airline Ltd), Captain Roy Ilegbodu (CEO of Arik Airline), Union Bank Ltd and Super Bravo Ltd were arraigned before the court on sundry charges. As it is, Union Bank is charged with a single count of giving false statements to public officers while the remaining defendants are answering to a five-count charge of theft, abuse of office, and fraudulent misappropriation of property.
In his speech, all of the defendants said they were not guilty when they listened to the charges being read in the arraignment. SAN Taiwo Osipitan, appearing for the 1st and 3rd defendants, tendered two bail applications that were filed on the 28th and 29, of November, 2024. On the bail issue, Osipitan urged his client to be granted a liberal bail term pointing out that the first defendant has never been involved in any criminal activity and has not violated any condition of his administrative bail issued to him by the EFCC.
In the same regard, defence counsel hoped to draw the attention of the court by stating that both the first, and third defendants had not escaped when they had a chance since they were ready to face the law.
However, the EFCC prosecutor, Wahab Shittu, (SAN) raised an issue with bail saying that since the defendants are being charged with economic sabotage which is not a bailable offence there is a high likelihood that defendants will flee. In this compromise, he proposed that the hearing proceeding should be increased, and the defendants’ passports should also be kept.
The second defendant Ahmed Kuru was in attendance through his lawyer, Olasupo Shasore SAN who applied for his client’s bail on grounds of self-recognition. The case is one of the biggest financial fraud investigations in the banking sector of Nigeria with a connection to the country’s aviation industry and regulation of the country’s finance markets.
The proceedings showcase the continued work of civil society and the Nigerian anti-corruption agencies in the alleged financial embezzlement cases in business and political circles, especially among the large conglomerate financial institutions. The case still takes so much focus as a financial type as well as a general type since the traders under prosecution are well-known and the magnitude of the case is enormous.
