By Wellington Jopelo
Documents from Arik Air Limited showing its former chairman, Sir Joseph Arumemi-Ikhide, proposing repayment of debts acquired by the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) featured prominently during the ongoing trial of former AMCON Managing Director, Ahmed Kuru, and four other defendants in Lagos.
The documents include a letter dated January 25, 2016, addressed to Kuru, and another dated October 9, 2017, also sent to the AMCON managing director. Both letters concern efforts to resolve Arik Air’s financial obligations and its relationship with the corporation.
The court proceedings continued at the Lagos State High Court, Special Offences Court, in Ikeja, where the prosecution’s fourth witness, Bawa Usman Kaltungo, faced further cross-examination by Olasupo Shasore, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), who represents Kuru, the second defendant.
During the proceedings, Shasore questioned Kaltungo about whether the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) had invited and obtained relevant information from Arumemi-Ikhide, the former chairman and promoter of Arik Air, as part of its investigation.
The witness responded that he had discretion over the people invited and questioned during an investigation.
Shasore then drew attention to the correspondence between Arik Air and AMCON, asking the witness about the former chairman’s engagements with the corporation and the receiver manager over the airline’s outstanding obligations.
One of the documents presented was a letter dated January 25, 2016, with the reference number ARIK/CHM/AMCON/002/1/16. Titled “Proposal for Resolution of Arik Air Limited’s Facilities Acquired by AMCON,” it was addressed to Kuru at AMCON’s Lagos office.
In the letter, Arumemi-Ikhide referred to discussions between Arik Air and AMCON concerning facilities acquired by AMCON from Union Bank of Nigeria and Keystone Bank.
The correspondence stated that the facilities acquired from Union Bank and Keystone Bank, together with other financial support extended to the airline, formed the basis of the financial relationship between Arik Air and AMCON.
The letter explained that the facilities from Union Bank had been provided as guarantees to European credit agencies and other banks for the acquisition of aircraft. It also referred to other funding arrangements, including Bank of Industry aviation intervention funds and AMCON support for aircraft maintenance.
Arumemi-Ikhide estimated in the letter that the total outstanding obligation would be about N120 billion by the end of January 2016, after taking account of interest and payments made up to that time.
The chairman proposed that AMCON grant Arik Air a 35 per cent discount, which would reduce the amount payable to N78 billion. The letter also outlined a repayment plan involving an initial payment of N10 billion, funds to be raised through a private placement, a future public offer and monthly payments of N200 million from the airline’s collections.
The proposal was subject to AMCON’s approval and other conditions. It therefore set out a proposed settlement arrangement rather than proof that the proposed repayment terms were accepted or fully implemented.
A second document, dated October 9, 2017, carried the title “Repayment of Arik Air Limited’s Debt to AMCON and Other Creditors.” It was addressed to the AMCON managing director, with attention to Ahmed Kuru, and copied to the airline’s receiver manager and Captain Roy Ilegbodu.
In the letter, Arumemi-Ikhide reiterated Arik Air’s determination to work with AMCON and the receiver towards an amicable resolution of the dispute between the airline and the corporation.
The chairman also thanked AMCON for keeping the airline operating and assured the corporation that Arik Air’s shareholders and new investors would take necessary steps to support negotiations and ensure a smooth transition from AMCON-led management.
The October 2017 correspondence is significant to the defence’s argument because it records the airline chairman’s stated willingness to engage with AMCON over the dispute and its financial obligations. However, the letter alone does not settle every legal question concerning the corporation’s intervention or the transactions now before the court.
During the same cross-examination, Shasore challenged Kaltungo over the allegation that Kuru transferred N4.9 billion towards the establishment of NG Eagle, the airline created during AMCON’s management of the Arik Air situation.
When asked to identify documentary evidence supporting the allegation, Kaltungo said the information came from Jonathan Sani, Arik Air’s chief financial officer, who had allegedly provided a breakdown of the amount.
Shasore then asked the witness to identify the supporting material in Exhibit P23, which formed part of the prosecution’s evidence. According to the account of the proceedings, the witness was unable to immediately point to the document containing the breakdown.
The defence counsel also drew the witness’s attention to a certified true copy of an extract from AMCON’s 78th board meeting. The document was said to contain the board’s approval for the establishment of NG Eagle and the budgeted expenditure for the process.
The defence relied on the extract to challenge the suggestion that the decision to establish NG Eagle was made solely by Kuru, arguing that the board’s involvement was relevant to determining responsibility for the transaction.
Kaltungo, however, urged the court to disregard the extract tendered by the defence. The disagreement placed the board’s role in the establishment of NG Eagle at the centre of the cross-examination.
The witness also maintained that Union Bank had misled AMCON into acquiring Arik Air’s debt, claiming that the EFCC investigation had not established that the bank granted the loan in question. He further argued that Arik Air’s loan was performing and that, in his view, AMCON lacked the power to take over the debt.
These assertions were challenged during the proceedings as Shasore continued to question the basis of the witness’s conclusions and the documents relied upon in the investigation.
The defence’s position is that the correspondence from Arumemi-Ikhide, the proposed debt settlement and the AMCON board extract are relevant to assessing the circumstances surrounding the corporation’s intervention in Arik Air and the subsequent establishment of NG Eagle.
The prosecution’s case and the defence’s arguments remain subject to judicial assessment. The letters contain proposals and statements made by Arik Air’s chairman, while the board extract and other exhibits must be considered in the context of the evidence before the court.
Kuru is standing trial alongside Kamilu Omokide, a former receiver manager of Arik Air Limited; Captain Roy Ilegbodu, the airline’s chief executive officer; Union Bank Limited; and Super Bravo Limited over allegations connected to Arik Air, NG Eagle and related financial transactions.
The proceedings are part of the case that followed a petition by Femi Falana, SAN, on behalf of Arik Air’s promoters and shareholders. The defendants’ presence in the case does not amount to a finding of guilt, and the allegations remain to be determined by the court.
Justice Mojisola Dada adjourned the matter until December 3 and December 10, 2026, for the continuation of the trial.
The documents and testimony are expected to remain important to the competing arguments over Arik Air’s indebtedness, AMCON’s intervention and the decisions taken during the period under investigation.