The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Wednesday, presented its Second prosecution witness, PW2, Austine Obegwe, a retired group executive director in charge of cooperate and international banking, division of Union Bank, in the trial of a former Managing Director of Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria AMCON, Ahmed Kuru and four others for allegedly defrauding Arik Airline N76 billion and $31.5 million, respectively, before Justice Mojisola Dada of Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos.
Other defendants are a former Receiver Manager of Arik Airline Ltd., Kamilu Omokide, Chief Executive Officer of the airline, Capt. Roy Ilegbodu, Super Bravo Ltd., and Union Bank Plc.
The defendants are being prosecuted on a six-count charge of theft, abuse of office and stealing by dishonestly taking the property of another.
Count one reads: “That you, Union Bank Nigeria Plc, sometime in 2011 or thereabouts, in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this 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 AMCON, regarding Arik Air Limited’s performing loans, following which you transferred a bogus figure of N71billion to AMCON.”
Count two reads: “That you, Ahmed Kuru, Kamilu 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 court, fraudulently converted to the use of NG Eagle Limited the total sum of N4.9billion property of Arik Air Limited.”
The defendants, however, pleaded “ not guilty” to all the six-count charges when they were read to them.
At the resumed trial on Wednesday, Obegwe told the court that he worked with the bank from 1980 to August 2009 before he retired.
Led in evidence by the prosecution counsel, Wahaab Shittu, SAN , the PW2 also told the court that he handled the transaction with Arik Air, US EXIM to purchased three Aircraft for which Union Bank provided guarantee.
According to him, “I was a board member, I handled the transaction with Arik Air for which Union Bank provided guarantee. We had a second transaction for two wide body Aircraft for body long hub A340500 and chemist OF HSBC Germany coface of UK, three of them are also share holders.
“The two Boeing were finance by the credit agreed and there was no payment by Union Bank, he did not pay any money or communicate any money for the guarantee for the 85 percent.
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“In Two wide body aircraft, the hub was the major success that proceeds the commendation from the president Yar’Adua, This aircraft, one was fly to London and the other was fly direct to New York.
“The major focus of this airline finance is that Union Bank were able to provide pending of a loan up to 85 percent until I left the bank in August 2009. All facilities extended to Arik were performing meaning that there was no default because of the way Arik was structure, but for Arik, he has two repayment everytime.
“In return of providing falters of the aircraft, we make collection of credit card. Everything was cash, am also aware that there was no default of money for the first bank to apply to CBN and make the payment to HSBC in Dollars, the bank that is representing all the foreign lenders.”
The prosecution counsel, Shittu sought to tender some documents relating to the transaction and satisfied by EFCC and all the defence counsel objected it on the grounds that, the witness was not an author and there is no evidence of satisfaction payment, they urged the court to refused this application.
In a short ruling, Justice Dada, rejected the documents “The witness in the box is not a member of the investigation team, he is not a member of AMCON, the documents cannot be tender.”
The witness said further, that “Any bank can sell facilities, if they want to sell or buy, and there was no request to sell any facilities when I was there.”
The witness, was cross-examination by the counsel to the first and third defendants, Taiwo Osipitan, SAN, and Olasupo Shasore, SAN, counsel to second defendant, Kuru, where they tendered several documents which court admitted as exhibits.
Justice Dada adjourned the matter till May 19 and 28, 2025, for continuation of trial.
