AMCON Transferred Arik Assets Before 90-day Deadline, Says EFCC

A prosecution witness, Bawa Kaltungo, on Thursday informed a Lagos court that the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) transferred some of Arik Air’s assets to SuperBravo Limited before the 90-day repayment period had expired.

The witness, who is the acting director of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Kaduna Zonal Office, told the Lagos State Special Offences Court in Ikeja that, while corporate restructuring is lawful, it must follow due process and legal safeguards.

Kaltungo, who was the fourth prosecution witness, was testifying in the ongoing trial of former Managing Director of AMCON, Ahmed Kuru.

The EFCC had arraigned Kuru, a former Receiver Manager of Arik Airline Ltd., Kamilu Omokide, the airline’s Chief Executive Officer, Captain Roy Ilegbodu, Union Bank Limited, and Super Bravo Ltd. before the court on a six-count charge of conspiracy, stealing, and abuse of office.

The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charge.

During examination-in-chief by the prosecution’s lawyer, Dr Wahab Shittu (SAN), Kaltungo, who was reading from a legal advice issued by the office of the Attorney-General of the Federation, stated that “such transfers must comply with the law, follow due process, protect all parties’ rights, and adhere to principles of good faith and human rights.”

The witness confirmed there was no evidence in the report suggesting the Legal and Regulatory Compliance unit’s advice had been ignored.

He stated, “Nothing in this case report indicates the advice was disregarded. Even if it was, it is the reference point for the receivership, not what other documents mention.”

On the matter of transferring Arik’s assets to SuperBravo, Kaltungo noted that legal advice from the LRC stressed such transfers should be carried out via a deed of transfer between subsidiaries like SuperBravo and Arik, ensuring proper documentation and transparency,” he said.

He observed that AMCON’s direct transfer did not align with this recommendation.

Furthermore, Kaltungo discussed a letter dated October 22, 2020, in which AMCON demanded that Arik Air pay its outstanding debts within 90 days.

“Although the deed was undated, simple math shows that from October 22, 2020, to December 31, 2020, is less than 90 days,” he explained.

He mentioned that the 90-day grace period would have ended on January 20, 2021.

Kaltungo also referenced a 2020 deed of transfer of three aircraft to SuperBravo by AMCON, despite the deed being undated.

“This indicates that the transfer should have taken place after the 90-day period, which ended on January 20, 2021, not in 2020 as suggested to the court.

He argued that transferring assets before the grace period’s expiry could deprive Arik of rights to those assets if the debt was settled within that period.

“In such cases, Arik could lose rights to the assets if they pay the debt before the grace period ends,” he stated.

Kaltungo further explained that such actions” might be seen as acting in bad faith by AMCON and the receiver-manager,” and that early transfer “may also breach exemption rights in the President’s Conveyance Act 1571, a general law and approval document.”

He added that Kuru’s management should have known that AMCON lacked the capacity and airline management expertise.

“Despite this, he placed Arik Air Ltd under receivership against the explicit advice of his predecessor, Mustafa Chike-Obi, who had previously decided not to declare receivership over Arik Air,” he said, highlighting AMCON’s lack of airline management experience.

The case was adjourned until April 28 and 29, 2026, to continue the trial.