A former Executive Director, Credits at Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), Muhammed Abbas Jega, has disclosed that the Arik debt in AMCON, which was onboarded at the time he served as Executive Director, fell within the category of non-performing loan.

Jega stated this during a cross-examination at the ongoing trial of former AMCON Managing Director, Ahmed Kuru, and four others, at the Special Offences Court presided over by Justice Mojisola Dada.
The other defendants include former Receiver Manager of Arik Air Ltd., Kamilu Omokide; Chief Executive Officer of the Airline, Roy Ilegbodu; Union Bank and Super Bravo Ltd.

They were arraigned on a five-count charge bordering on theft, abuse of office, and dishonest acquisition of another’s property while the Union Bank Plc. was alleged of false statements to a public officer.

It would be recalled that Jega, in his previous evidence, testified that the Arik loan, which AMCON purchased at the first phase of the Eligible Bank Asset (EBA) purchase, was performing.

But yesterday, he retracted his earlier testimony to the court, when he told the court that the AMCON leadership, which he was part of as an Executive Director, purchased from Union Bank and Bank PHB a whopping N85 billion Arik debt.

Jega also disclosed that AMCON extended additional loans as working capital of N11 billion to Arik.

He also informed the court that despite these funds injected by AMCON into Arik, plus the BoI intervention funds into Arik, which AMCON also guaranteed, Arik was not able to service their obligations with AMCON up until the time he left as Executive Director, Credits.

But he threw the court into some sort of confusion when he stated that even though he served as Executive Director, Credits of AMCON, who acted in good faith, and carried out all actions backed with Board approval, he never sighted the loan purchase agreement, which chronicled the number and credit details regarding the embattled Arik loan, especially from Union Bank.

Jega also admitted that, as at the time he left AMCON in 2015, the Arik loan was non-performing.

He, however, maintained that Union Bank deceived AMCON.

The matter was adjourned to today, July 1, 2025, for continuation.