Court rejects EFCC’s evidence in N76bn fraud trial of ex-AMCON MD

Mojisola Dada, judge of the Lagos special offences court, has rejected a document sought to be tendered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the ongoing trial of Ahmed Kuru, a former managing director of the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), and four others.

On January 20, Kuru (second defendant) was arraigned alongside Roy Ilegbodu (third defendant), managing director of Arik Air; Kamilu Omokide (first defendant), receiver manager of Arik Air; Union Bank Plc (fourth defendant) and Super Bravo Limited (fifth defendant), before the special offences court in Ikeja, Lagos.

The defendants are accused of defrauding Arik Air (currently in receivership) of N76 billion and $31.5 million.

During proceedings on Wednesday, the EFCC presented its second witness, Austine Obegwe, a former staff member of Union Bank.

However, the court rejected the document he sought to tender, ruling that Obegwe was not a member of the EFCC investigation team.

“It is trite that the party must lay foundation on the document sought to tender under the Evidence Act. It is true that the public document must be certified by the public official,” the judge said.

“The witness in the box is not a member of AMCON that has the original document. The issue of proper certification is important as laid by the law. The document cannot be tendered by this witness.”

The EFCC had previously presented its first witness, Peter Omokaro, who served as an assistant general manager at Union Bank.

He testified that Arik Air’s debt to Union Bank predated Kuru’s tenure at AMCON, prompting the EFCC, led by Wahab Shittu, prosecution counsel, to call a second witness.

At the start of the proceedings, Shittu appeared for the prosecution, while Taiwo Osipitan represented the first and third defendants.

Olasupo Sashore served as counsel for the second defendant, Olalekan Ojo represented the fourth defendant, and the fifth defendant also had legal representation.

During cross-examination, Obegwe, who served as group executive director of corporate and international banking at Union Bank before leaving in 2009, said he could not provide testimony on events that occurred afterwards.

He also confirmed that he did not personally know two of the defendants — Omokide and Ilegbodu — during his tenure.

Obigwe, however, said Union Bank served as a guarantor for Arik Air to acquire five aircraft — three Boeing 737-800s and two Airbus 340-500s.

The witness added that the B737-800s were used for domestic flights, while the wide-body aircraft operated routes to New York and London.

‘DOCUMENT UNSIGNED AND UNDATED’ 

However, when the prosecution counsel attempted to submit a report on the stakeholders’ meeting in London as evidence, the defense objected to its admissibility.

Ojo contended that the document was unsigned and undated, while Osipitan questioned its authenticity and demanded clarification on its origin.

He maintained that the law required only original copies of documents to be certified.

But Shittu insisted that the document remained relevant to the case, regardless of its status.

“Even if the document was stolen, in as much as it is relevant to the case, my lord, it is admissible in the law court,” he said.

The judge, however, ruled otherwise, stating that proper identification was necessary.

She subsequently adjourned the trial to May 19, 2025.