The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, on Wednesday, told Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos, about an intelligence report that the duo of Kamil Omokide, Receiver Manager of Arik Air and Capt. Roy llegbodu, Managing Director of Arik Air were planning to sell assets tied to an alleged N75m and $31.5m fraud involving them alongside Ahmed Kuru, a former Managing Director of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria, AMCON.
Kuru, alongside llegbodu, Omokide, Union Bank of Nigeria Plc, and Super Bravo Limited, is standing trial on a six-count charge bordering on conspiracy, stealing, and abuse of office.
The EFCC had on 20 January, 2025 arraigned Kuru and four others for allegedly defrauding Arik Airline of N76bn and $31.5m respectively.
Other defendants are former Receiver Manager of Arik Airline Ltd, Kamilu Omokide, Chief Executive Officer of the airline, Captain Roy Ilegbodu, and Super Bravo Ltd and Union Bank Plc.
The defendants were arraigned before Justice Mojisola Dada of the Special Offences Court sitting in Ikeja, Lagos on a six-count charge bordering on theft, abuse of office and stealing by dishonestly taking the property of another.
The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to all the six-count charges when they were read to them.
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”.
