An Ikeja special offences court in Lagos has issued an arrest warrant against Ahmed Kuru, a former managing director of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), after he failed to appear for trial.

Kuru was due to face arraignment on a six-count charge of theft and abuse of office.

On Tuesday, Kuru and his legal team were absent from the court, prompting the trial judge, Mojisola Dada, to order his arrest.

An Ikeja special offences court in Lagos has issued an arrest warrant against Ahmed Kuru, a former managing director of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON), after he failed to appear for trial.

Kuru was due to face arraignment on a six-count charge of theft and abuse of office.

On Tuesday, Kuru and his legal team were absent from the court, prompting the trial judge, Mojisola Dada, to order his arrest.

The case stems from a petition filed by Femi Falana, a senior advocate of Nigeria, on behalf of Johnson Arumemi, the founder of Arik Air, and the airline’s shareholders.

THE ALLEGATIONS

Based on the charge sheet, EFCC accused Union Bank of “making false statements” to AMCON regarding Arik Air’s loans and bank guarantees, resulting in the transfer of a sum of N71 billion to AMCON.

The anti-graft agency accused Kuru, Omokide, and Ilegbodu of stealing and “fraudulently converting N4.9 billion for the use of NG Eagle Limited in 2022”.

The EFCC also accused Kuru and Omokide for intentionally incorporating a company — NG Eagle Limited — for the purpose of obtaining undue advantage for themselves and cronies.

The anti-graft agency alleged that Kuru, Omokide, and Ilegbodu authorised the destruction of 5N-JEA aircraft valued at $31.5 million on February 12, 2022.

“That you, UNION BANK NIGERIA PLC, sometimes in 2011 or thereabout, 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,” the charge sheet 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, sometimes 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.

“That you, CAPT. ROY ILEGBODU as MD/CEO of Arik Air Ltd in receivership, in May, 2024 or thereabout, in Lagos within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, did steal the sum of N22,500,000.00 (Twenty-Two Million, Five Hundred Thousand Naira) by fraudulently converting same to the use of Magashi All Mohammed property of Arik Air Ltd.

“That you, AHMED LAWAL KURU as Managing Director of Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) and KAMILU ALABA OMOKIDE as Receiver/Manager of Arik Air Ltd. being public officers, on 11th July, 2019 or thereabout in Lagos, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, directed to be done in abuse of the authority of your offices an arbitrary act, to wit: intentionally and in violation of the discharge of your functions incorporated a Company called NG Eagle Limited, RC Number 1600277 for the purpose of obtaining undue advantage for yourself and or cronies.”

Rosemary, the mother of Sylvester Oromoni, the deceased pre-teen secondary school student who was the subject of a high-profile bullying case involving Dowen College in Lagos, is dead.

The bereaved, a family source tells TheCable, passed away in late November after an intermittent blood pressure-related illness.

Rosemary’s passing comes a little over seven months after a special court in Lagos ruled against the family on the matter back in April.

Sylvester Oromoni controversially died on November 30, 2021, while still a student at Dowen College in Lekki Lagos.

His parents alleged that the boy, who was aged 12, was bullied, beaten up, and fed a chemical substance by five of his male colleagues.

Dowen College had dismissed the claim, stating that the late student only sustained injuries while playing football with his friends.

The Oromoni family had countered Dowen’s claim, arguing that their son had no pre-existing health challenges before the incident.

In January 2022, an initial autopsy declared that Oromoni Junior died of “acute lung injury due to chemical intoxication”.

This post-mortem was discredited due to its methods and some dissatisfactions surrounding the parties who witnessed the procedure.

The Lagos department of public prosecution (DPP) conducted a second autopsy which ruled that Oromoni died “naturally”.

The case was under inquiry in a coroner’s court from 2022 until last April when it got a final ruling.

Among the defendants of the case are the five accused teenage schoolboys of Dowen College.

They include Favour Benjamin, Micheal Kashamu, Edward Begue, Ansel Temile, and Kenneth Inyang.

All five boys were cleared and released from the juvenile home in 2022.

Several witnesses testified during the two-year pendency of the case, including doctors, students, Dowen staff, and the principal.

The father of the deceased Sylvester Oromoni (Snr) and the mother Rosemary also took to the witness box on several occasions.

Some of the Dowen empl

Oromoni was buried on January 27, 2024, after the bereaved family opted to keep his corpse in the morgue as a protest gesture.

Mikhail Kadiri, the judge who presided over the coroner’s court, resolved that Oromoni died of sepsis emanating from an infection of the lungs and kidney caused by an ankle injury.

Some of the Dowen employees involved in the case include Celina Uduak, Valentine Igboekweze, Hammed Ayomo Bariyu, Adesanya Olusesan Olusegun, and one Adeyemi, all of whom were initially accused of “negligent act causing harm” in the case.

Kadiri attributed Oromoni’s death to “parental and medical negligence” and exonerated the authorities of Dowen College.

The coroner’s verdict also ruled that neither bullying nor chemical poisoning as alleged was responsible for the student’s death.

But the family and its legal representatives protested that the inquiry ignored “crucial evidence” in reaching its verdict.

The National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) says its operatives have uncovered an illegal production site for counterfeit alcoholic beverages on Lagos Island.

In a statement on Monday, the agency said its team, acting on a complaint, discovered a shop repurposed for producing and packaging fake alcoholic drinks on Offin Road in the Balogun area of Lagos Island.

“Assorted bottles of the offending products were destroyed on-site, while packaging materials, empty bottles, and repackaged drinks were confiscated,” the statement reads.

“The estimated value of the destroyed and seized items exceeds N30 million.

“NAFDAC has initiated further investigations and advises consumers to buy alcoholic beverages only from reputable vendors and to report any suspicious products and activities to the nearest NAFDAC office.”