The ongoing criminal trial of former Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) Managing Director, Ahmed Kuru, and four other defendants continued at the Lagos State High Court, Special Offences Court, in Ikeja, with the cross-examination of a prosecution witness bringing fresh attention to the circumstances surrounding AMCON’s intervention in Arik Air.
During proceedings, prosecution witness four (PW4), Bawa Usman Kaltungo, was cross-examined by Olasupo Shasore, SAN, counsel to Kuru, the second defendant, on the investigation into the airline’s financial obligations and the decisions surrounding the establishment of NG Eagle.
The proceedings took a contentious turn when Shasore questioned Kaltungo on whether investigators had invited and obtained relevant information from Arik Air’s chairman and promoter, Sir Johnson Arumemi-Ikhide. The witness responded that he had discretion over the individuals invited for questioning during the investigation.
Shasore also drew the witness’s attention to alleged engagements between Arumemi-Ikhide, AMCON management and the airline’s receiver-manager, during which the Arik promoter was said to have acknowledged the airline’s indebtedness. He specifically referred to a letter dated January 25, 2016, addressed to AMCON’s managing director and titled “Proposal for Resolution of Arik Air Limited’s Facilities Acquired by AMCON”.
When asked about the matter, Kaltungo reportedly responded that if Arumemi-Ikhide had said he took a loan, “that is their business”.
The cross-examination also focused on the witness’s allegation that Kuru transferred ₦4.9 billion towards the establishment of NG Eagle, an airline project associated with AMCON’s intervention in the aviation sector.
Asked by Shasore whether he had documentary evidence to support the allegation, Kaltungo said the information came from Arik Air’s chief financial officer, Jonathan Sani, who had allegedly provided investigators with a breakdown of the expenditure.
However, when counsel asked him to identify the supporting evidence in Exhibit P23, a document submitted by the prosecution, the witness reportedly searched through the materials but was unable to point to the relevant documentation.
Shasore subsequently confronted the witness with additional documents, including a certified true copy of the extract of AMCON’s 78th board meeting, which reportedly contained approval for the establishment of NG Eagle and its budgeted expenditure.
The document was presented in response to the allegation that Kuru had independently expended or transferred ₦4.9 billion towards setting up the airline. According to the account of the proceedings, Kaltungo urged the court to disregard the board-meeting extract, despite its apparent relevance to the question of whether the decision was made by Kuru alone or approved collectively by AMCON’s board.
The witness also challenged the basis of AMCON’s acquisition of Arik Air’s debt, alleging that Union Bank had misled the corporation into purchasing the facility. He maintained that, based on his investigation, there was no evidence that Union Bank had granted a loan to Arik Air and argued that the airline’s facility had been performing.
Kaltungo further described AMCON’s intervention in Arik Air as “illegal and fraudulent”, arguing that the corporation lacked the authority to take over the airline’s debt. These assertions formed part of his testimony and were contested during the cross-examination.
The proceedings were marked by exchanges between the witness and defence counsel as Shasore continued to question the basis of the investigation’s findings and the documentary evidence supporting the allegations against Kuru.
Justice Mojisola Dada adjourned the case until December 3 and 10, 2026, for the continuation of the trial.
