Tag: Arik Air

• By Ololade Gbajumo

On 30 October 2006, a vision took to the skies. Arik Air lifted off from the tarmac of Murtala Muhammed Airport, Lagos — a bold declaration that Nigerians could build and operate an airline of world-class standard.

That day, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, then Governor of Lagos State (now President of Nigeria), represented by Mr. Dele Alake, flagged off the airline with pride and optimism. Little could he have imagined that, nineteen years later, that same airline would return to his presidential desk — not as a triumph, but as a tragedy of mismanagement under the Asset Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON).

Arik began with brand-new aircraft, state-of-the-art systems, and audacious ambition. At its peak, it flew 22 new airplanes, connected every major Nigerian airport, expanded into West and Central Africa, and carried Nigeria’s flag proudly to London, New York, and Johannesburg.

Its workforce were not just employees; they were ambassadors of Nigerian excellence. Pilots trained at Oxford, managers at Cranfield and Boeing, engineers at Lufthansa Technik. Arik became Africa’s fastest-growing airline — admired, trusted, and respected.

International financiers such as US Exim Bank, Export Development Canada, and Afrexim Bank supported its rise, while Lufthansa Technik provided maintenance. For once, Nigerians saw aviation that inspired confidence: punctual flights, gleaming aircraft, and dignity in the skies.

Turbulence ahead but the winds changed

Arik’s growth, financed through a consortium of international lenders at a sustainable 2.5% interest rate, was derailed by a financial scandal that began in 2010. Union Bank — a local guarantor of the foreign credit lines — sold its guarantee portfolio to AMCON, misrepresenting it as loans it had granted to Arik.

Years later, investigations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) revealed the truth: Union Bank never granted those loans. The transaction was fraudulent from inception. Yet, AMCON bought the “debt,” imposed a crippling 18% interest rate, and turned a performing, solvent airline into a financial casualty.

That single act of bureaucratic recklessness became Arik’s descent into chaos. Maintenance budgets were reviewed by bankers as just numbers without an inkling of consequences on planning and scheduling, cash flows strangled, and the airline’s balance sheet deliberately sabotaged. The once high-flying Nigerian airline was forced into turbulence — not by poor performance, but by state-enabled financial sabotage.

The AMCON takeover — A hard landing

On 9 February 2017, AMCON announced it had taken over Arik under receivership — calling it a rescue. For many, it felt more like an ambush. Infact, Nigerians in worldwide watched in awe a Nigerian Senator on national television saying, “take it, take it….” Ofcourse without introspection but excitement, now we are all living witnesses.The appointed receiver, Oluseye Opasanya, SAN, and the new CEO, Capt. Roy Ilegbodu, took control without proper handover notes or inventory — a shocking procedural failure for such a critical operation. The founder, Johnson Arumemi-Ikhide, was reportedly detained overnight at AMCON’s instance — a symbolic show of force that revealed the true intent of the so-called intervention.

From that day, Arik’s fortunes nosedived. The airline that once operated 140 daily flights on 60 routes now struggles to maintain six domestic flights daily — and reportedly has only one functioning aircraft as of today 30October 2025.

AMCON’s claims of “stabilizing” Arik are a cruel joke. The once-bustling hangar at Lagos Airport, once filled with shiny new jets, now lies littered with abandoned, cannibalized aircraft — a graveyard of Nigeria’s aviation dreams.

Receivership, it turned out, was not a rescue. It was a hijack — a calculated destruction of value.

The EFCC exposé and the pattern of abuse

By 2023, the EFCC confirmed what some industry watchers had long suspected: the so-called “Union Bank loan” was a fraud. The bank and several officials are now on trial for deception, misrepresentation, and abuse of office.

Meanwhile, AMCON’s own stewardship has remained opaque. No receiver’s accounts were filed for years. Assets were sold without transparency. Aircraft were stripped, dismembered, and written off without due process. Even performing loans and contractual relationships were reportedly driven into default under AMCON’s receivership management.

In October 2024, AMCON’s new Managing Director, Mr. Gbenga Alade, perhaps without realization that AMCON took over 19 aircraft in Arik at the commencement of the receivership publicly promised to expand Arik’s fleet from three to eight aircraft by March 2025, to help lower airfares. One year later, the promise has evaporated — no new aircraft, no expansion, no relief for the industry.

Aviation, unlike banking, is not a spreadsheet operation. It demands precision, trust, and competence. AMCON’s experiment with Arik has instead destroyed investor confidence — not just in aviation, but across Nigeria’s private sector.

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When the Rescuer Becomes the Predator

The AMCON Act was designed to protect the economy, not weaponize state power. Yet its intervention in Arik became a case study in how power, unchecked, breeds ruin.

Under the guise of recovery, AMCON’s agents have often operated with impunity — seizing, selling, and silencing entrepreneurs. In Arik’s case, the so-called rescue obliterated value, jobs, and Nigeria’s reputation with foreign financiers.Institutions like US Exim, Afrexim, Export Development Canada, HSBC, and Bank of America watched their Nigerian investments rot on the tarmac — a clear warning to future investors.

When a government agency acts like a wrecking crew, trust evaporates — and capital follows.

Restoring faith in Nigeria’s skies

Today, Nigeria’s aviation sector faces mounting challenges — high fuel costs, dwindling fleets, and shrinking investor trust. Yet, hope remains.

President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has signaled a new era of policy clarity and investor confidence. Aviation Minister Festus Keyamo, SAN, has taken steps to rebuild credibility, attract new entrants, and enforce reciprocity in bilateral air service agreements.

But the Arik Air saga stands as an unhealed wound — a stark reminder that no reform can thrive where institutions misuse power and hide behind legality to commit economic vandalism.

Flight path to redemption

Nineteen years after takeoff, Arik Air’s story is both a dream and a warning. It began with vision and pride — but was brought down by greed and mismanagement disguised as rescue.

If Nigeria truly seeks new investment and global respect, it must confront this truth: what happened to Arik under AMCON is not reform. It is economic vandalism under the cover of law.

Now, the same President who watched the bird take its first flight must decide — will he let it crash for good, or will he lead its true rescue?

Let the truth fly again. Let Arik rise, not as a symbol of failure, but of redemption, renewal, and restored confidence in Nigeria’s ability to soar.

• Gbajumo writes from London

By Arik Stakeholders

Arik Air shareholders are compelled by the need to clarify and correct false and misleading statements attributed to AMCON through  its Head of Corporate Communications, Mr Jude Nwauzor which was published   in Premium Times of 20 December 2024 and some social media handles. This is another one in the series of calculated attempts to cover up the truth about AMCON forceful take-over, mismanagement and destruction of Arik Air. However since most of the issues recklessly misrepresented by Mr Nwauzor   are before the court, we, out of our respect for the law courts, shall only limit ourselves to restating the facts.

It is unfortunate that AMCON, a public institution, under the pretext of replying an opinion expressed in a newspaper by an independent commentator resorted to launching a malicious tirade against the Shareholders of Arik Air and perhaps other government agencies, especially the EFCC. Instead of  addressing the issues raised by the commentator.

First, we must start by thanking  AMCON for finally admitting that   the   take-over of Arik Air was as a result of a “directive” from the Buhari-led Federal Government. This “directive” however side-stepped the statutory procedure and due process that guide the take-over of companies in Nigeria. Thus, the   forceful take-over of Arik was a political ambush  followed by an after-thought of an economic justification of insolvency which was badly portrayed as an “economic rescue act”.

Petition to EFFC:

We were forced to file a petition to the EFCC   through the chambers of Femi Falana & Co only after AMCON refused to obey any of the consequential orders of the Federal High Court”s judgement in suit number FHC/L/CS/1175/2021 of March 31 , 2023 and instead, resorted to disobeying and disparaging the Court. It should  also be stated that Arik shareholders were investigated by the EFCC at the instance of AMCON from 2021 until relieved from  invitations on the unsubstantiated allegations by AMCON.  This was during the tenure of Mr. Rasheed Bawa during Buhari’s administration of former President Mohammed Buhari. Mr. Bawa also authorized the  investigation of the Arik shareholders’ petition even in the face of reported intense pressure by former MD of AMCON, Mr. Ahmed Kuru, to scuttle investigations of the affairs of AMCON in Arik Air receivership. The investigation progressed even after the change of guards at the EFCC and its findings are finally seeing the light of day only because Mr. Bawa, former Chairman and the new EFCC Chairman Mr. Olu Olukayode, insisted that nobody is above the law.

For the records, the same EFCC at the instance of AMCON arrested and detained Sir JIA Arumemi-Ikhide on the 8 February 2017, the eve of the take-over of Arik. Sir Arumemi Ikhide was investigated by EFFC and released without indictment. Yet, he neither cast an aspersion against the EFCC nor castigate AMCON for the trauma he suffered from the AMCON-induced unjustified detention.

It is unfortunate that AMCON is falsely alleging that Arik shareholders’ petition and the resultant prosecution by the  EFCC is a collusion to frame its former  Managing Director, Mr. Ahmed Kuru; Mr. Kamilu Alaba Omokide (former Receiver Manager, Arik); Captain Roy Ilegbodu (CEO, Arik in Receivership); Super Bravo Limited, and Union Bank Plc.

On our part, we respect the mandates of government agencies and wait for the courts to adjudicate without resorting to sub-judicial commentaries.

Peradventure, the AMCON protagonists should be reminded that Mr. Femi Falana’s petition on our behalf is not the only one calling  Mr Ahmed Kuru’s regime at AMCON to account. Could other petitions through other lawyers to the EFCC on keystone Bank in which Mr. Kuru and others have been charged to court also be a collusion and an attempt to embarrass AMCON and its officers?

One would have thought that   Mr Gbenga Alade, the new MD of AMCON, would  use the findings offered by the EFCC investigations of Mr. Kuru and others to make corrections, improvement, and allow the law to be the arbiter in disputes. It is most unfortunate that AMCON, a Federal Government agency entrusted with unprecedented special powers by our laws and offered a new lease of life with a new leadership, is playing the role of Judge, Jury, Executioner and victim through all its dramas in the media.

The descent to name-calling when the law or court judgements fail to suit AMCON’s false narratives is sad. We wish to remind AMCON that to execute the Arik receivership, AMCON used the same EFCC, Police and the Courts.

Mr. Alade-led AMCON should be courageous enough to own up to the fact that his predecessor misadvised the Federal Government, instead of recycling the false narrative that continue to project the country as a space not governed by values, law, order and due process. Afterall, no human is beyond error!

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In addition, he should be reminded that the case in court is between the Federal Republic of Nigeria (his employers) and former employees of AMCON and others, Mr. Alade’s utterances as reported in the media and by the publication in the Premium Times indicate he is not in agreement with the actions of his employers, with respect to the former MD and other being charged to court.

Fed Govt’s intervention or AMCON‘s forced takeover:

We hereby wish to restate the position in our  response to the statement made in 2023  by Mr. Kuru that the Ag President at the time (Prof Yemi Osinbajo) directed AMCON to take over Arik. We consider this claim as untenable that a learned man of law would direct AMCON to take over a private business when there are extant laws in the constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria governing receiverships and processes of putting companies into administration! Unless he was  wrongly advised or misinformed by Mr Kuru.

It may be unknown to the public and therefore bears repeating that several companies just like Arik have been victims of Mr. Kuru’s novel “creation” of receiverships for companies allegedly of interest to him and his collaborators.

President BolaTinubu’s angle:

AMCON’s desperate attempt at invoking the name of former President Mohammadu Buhari into this matter is tantamount to disparaging the office of the President and dragging this exalted office into disrepute. We are confident that President Tinubu will not condone any act of impunity for the arbitrary take-over of a private business by a stroke of pen. Clearly this  implies that AMCON’s justification of business take-over by executive fiat runs at cross purposes with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s private sector leadership agenda. This is aptly captured in his own words  as follows: “There is no driver of the economy that is bigger than the private sector. If the private sector is not flourishing, there is no growth, no prosperity, no employment or development. No matter how flowery the speeches are, not even a mushroom will grow”.

AMCON’s claims of indebtedness by Arik:

We wish to state that we will not discuss the alleged indebtedness of Arik Air on the pages of the newspapers, as this is one of the main  issues before the courts. Unlike AMCON who disobeyed the courts and discuss all matters pending before the courts in the media and press conference. Suffice it to state  the new MD of AMCON recently called on the courts to rescue it on its own terms whereas AMCON brazenly refused to obey ALL consequential orders of the judgement of the Federal High Court (without stay of execution) on the  Arik Air receivership.

State of Arik Fleet by unaccountable receivership:

Mr. Alade was invited and visited  the Arik Air Hangars at the request of the  shareholders on 28 August 2024 so he could see for himself first-hand the wanton destruction of 14 new generation aircraft and other Arik assets  by AMCON and  its agents. We are therefore shocked to read in the publication under reference, offer of superlative praises for the same agents and officers who superintended over the wanton decimation/cannibalisation of the airline’s fleet.

Other issues:

The matters of alleged loans, lease defaults, maintenance reserves , fake letters and KPMG audits have been uploaded to the media by AMCON in its traditional methods to set false narratives and promote conclusions not founded on truth and equity including inciting  public disaffection for the promoters of Arik  and tacitly overreaching the Courts. However, since these are key issues to be adjudicated by the courts, we have been advised by our lawyers to refrain from responding on the pages of newspapers.

Obstruction ofaircraft sales etc:

We are not aware of any plans to sell any aircraft by AMCON. But we state categorically that as  shareholders of Arik, we exercised our constitutionally guaranteed rights for protection of our investments by seeking the court’s protection for the 3 units Boeing 737-NG aircraft that were fraudulent transferred to Super Bravo and for the reversal of Arik funds illegally used for the registration/processing of AOC for NG Eagle  by AMCON. The courts ruled in our favour, and ordered the reversal the transfer and indicted the Receiver Manager for breach of fiduciary duties to Arik. The court also ordered AMCON to file audited accounts of its receivership from 2017 to date (December 2022) to the Corporate Affairs Commission which AMCON and its Receiver Managers have failed to do.

AMCON`s leadership for Arik:

The claims of stabilisation of Arik Air by AMCON is an insult to the travelling public. The downturn and dwindled fortunes of the airline is visibly displayed for the world to see, both in the airline operations under receivership and at the Arik Hangar where 14 cannibalised and destroyed aircraft are on display. AMCON’s solely appointed Receiver Manager and CEO’s mismanagement is a testament to this fact. Capt Roy Ilegbodu, Kamilu Alaba Omokide and members of the Technical Advisory  Board have used Arik to support their champagne  lifestyles in retirement and enhanced their businesses/jobs while  the airline is run aground.

Arik under shareholders management operated   an average of 120 flights daily with a route network traversing the whole of Nigeria, all west and central Africa’s major airports including Angola and Johannesburg. As well as London and New York with about 22 aircraft. But today, under AMCON,  it only operates about 25 flights daily with 3 aircraft out of the 19 that AMCON inherited from the shareholders at take-over.  Indeed, what a display of  expertise by AMCON’s standard!

That the AMCON’s “revered” aviation experts could not convert the much-sought-after Arik London Heathrow and JFK landing slots worth over  USD70M to a quick cash when the receivership management discontinued flights to those destinations, speaks to his incompetencies. He lost those hard earned valuable slots to inexperience and selfishness!. If AMCON’s measure of expertise should be a bench mark in Nigeria, then the  future in aviation is bleak for the country.

It is surprising that rather than relieve the officers charged to Court by Federal Government from their duties pending the determination of the cases in Court, AMCON MD is protecting  and keeping them in their duty post in disregard of government code of conduct. We recall that when allegations of impropriety was made against serving Minister in this administration, the President took appropriate actions.

Mr Oluseye Opasanya SAN, Kamilu Alaba Omokide FCA and Captain Roy Ilegbodu inherited a well maintained fleet of 19 new generation aircraft with large inventory  of over USD 200M worth of spare parts and spare engines. It should be noted that most of the aircraft have been fully paid for by the shareholders, but AMCON refused to meet the ongoing obligations for a few aircraft whose obligations will crystallise in 2025, when they took over in 2017. Yet they cannot manage the airline.

Clearly the receivership manager NEVER had any positive plan for the airline. Its claim of intervention, rescue and promise to turn around the airline is a hoax and a woeful failure.

It appears that AMCON is more fixated on covering the malfeasance it created in Arik by angrily attacking Arik shareholders. They should however remember other cases making headlines such as Keystone Bank that AMCON’s former executives must answer to.

As stated earlier, we have answers to all the issues raised  by AMCON in the refrenced publications. We have made them known in previous publications. However, since some of the matters are now before the court, we shall refrain from public commentaries as advised by our lawyers.

We, the shareholders of Arik, are willing and ready for an open dialogue and discussions with AMCON in the presence of the relevant authorities such as Police, EFCC, the CBN, the Ministries of Finance, Justice, and Aviation & Aerospace.

We come to equity with clean hands and ask that AMCON do the same.