The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday, December 8, 2025, told a Lagos court how billions of naira and dollar-denominated loans meant for the survival of Arik Air were allegedly diverted to establish NG Eagle Airlines.
Testifying before Justice Mojisola Dada of the Ikeja Special Offences Court, the EFCC’s Acting Zonal Director in Kaduna, Bawa Usman Kaltungo, detailed a paper trail of financial transactions implicating former AMCON Managing Director Ahmed Kuru and four others.
Led in evidence by prosecuting counsel Wahab Shittu (SAN), Kaltungo said Arik Air’s account officer raised red flags over the transfer of N1.9 billion and N4.9 billion for activities “unrelated to airline operations.” According to him, the funds were diverted directly to NG Eagle Airlines to cover staff salaries, rent and other running costs.
“NG Eagle’s expenses, including staff salaries and quarterly financial obligations, were paid from Arik Air’s bank accounts,” Kaltungo told the court, tendering letters, payment instructions and internal memoranda as Exhibits A to Z.
The defendants are Ahmed Kuru, former AMCON-appointed Receiver-Manager of Arik Air; Kamilu Alaba Omokide; Captain Roy Ilegbodu; Union Bank Plc; and Super Bravo Limited.
Kaltungo further traced the financial trail to a 2010 memorandum signed by Arik’s then Chief Executive Officer approving the release of N100 million. He also revealed that Arik obtained foreign loans running into $114.78 million from export credit agencies, with quarterly repayments deducted from its accounts.
Union Bank, he said, restructured Arik’s debts in 2010 and 2011 and later sold the loans to the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) for N71 billion, but the bank’s records only reflected N34 billion.
“The figure does not reflect what Union Bank sold to AMCON,” Kaltungo told the court.
He disclosed that Arik also leased crew to Ibom Air, but proceeds from the arrangement never entered the receivership accounts after AMCON took over in 2017. Zenith Bank transfer records, he said, confirmed the inflows but the funds were allegedly unaccounted for.
The EFCC witness further told the court that in 2015, Arik executed a N46 billion indemnity in favour of Union Bank, while a 2011 letter addressed to former President Goodluck Jonathan showed that Arik protested the transfer of its loans without formal notice.
On the alleged engine lease fraud, Kaltungo said a board resolution revealed that Super Bravo Limited leased an engine back to Arik at a base rent of $70,000 per month, with additional charges of $340 per flight hour and $200 per flight cycle. All payments, he said, were routed into an AMCON remittal account.
Documents from 2015–2016 bearing the signatures of Kuru and Omokide were also tendered, despite the fact that the official receivership only commenced on February 17, 2017, when neither of them was on Arik’s payroll.
Kaltungo told the court that NG Eagle Airlines, launched in 2021, took over key routes previously operated by Arik Air and allegedly used Arik’s funds and crew. The N4.9 billion transfer, he said, served as seed capital for the airline without board approval or disclosure.
Arik Air’s financial difficulties, according to the EFCC, escalated in 2016 when its debt profile rose to about N300 billion, leading to AMCON’s intervention. By 2020, Arik reportedly operated only three aircraft, while NG Eagle commenced operations with new aircraft and inherited Arik’s domestic slots at the Murtala Muhammed Airport Terminal 2 (MMA2), Lagos.
The defendants are facing charges of conspiracy, theft and money laundering. Their pleas have not yet been taken on the fresh allegations.
The case was adjourned to January 2 and 3, 2026, for continuation of trial.