AMCON appeals ruling stopping transfer of Arik Air assets

The Assets Management Corporation of Nigeria (AMCON) through its Receiver-Manager has appealed last week’s ruling of a Federal High Court in Lagos, which stopped the transfer of Arik Air assets to another entity, NG Eagle Airlines and Super Bravo Limited.

The court had ruled that the decision was not in the best interest of Arik Air even as the Receiver/Manager was mandated to render account of its stewardship in Arik.

Daily Trust reports that AMCON had taken over the management of Arik Air since 2017 and appointed a receiver-manager for the airline.

In 2021, the founder of Arik Air, Sir Johnson Arumemi Ikhide, and his wife, Mary Arumemi Ikhide (plaintiffs) had filed an originating motion dated December 14, 2021, and prayed the court that the duty imposed on the receiver-manager, Kamilu Omokhide (first defendant) to act in the best interest of Arik Air Limited as a whole.

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The plaintiffs averred that the transfer of Arik Air Limited assets to NG Eagle (third defendant) and Super Bravo Limited (fifth defendant) “was done in bad faith and a violation of the Omokhide’s (first defendant) fiduciary duty to Arik Air Limited as imposed by section 553 of the CAMA 2020”.

The NG Eagle was created by AMCON while some aircraft of Arik Air have already been converted to the new airline but the Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) did not release the Air Operator’s Certificate (AOC) of the new airline.

Though the court presided over by Justice Ambrose Lewis-Allagoa affirmed the power of AMCON (the second defendant) to appoint the receiver-manager, it submitted that the transfer of Arik Air’s assets was done in bad faith.

However, Daily Trust learnt that a notice of appeal has already been filed, according to sources close to AMCON, to correct “some elements of the judgement, which are unusual and unheard of in insolvency cases.”

Mr. Omokhide in a chat with Daily Trust yesterday simply confirmed that the appeal has been filed and said further details would be provided by the lawyers.