Former Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirika awarded “questionable” contracts to his members of the family and a pal throughout his tenure in workplace, an investigator instructed a courtroom in Abuja on Thursday.
Christopher Odofin, a detective with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) showing as a prosecution witness in Mr Sirika’s corruption trial, mentioned this whereas fielding cross-examination questions from defence counsel Kanu Agabi.
He listed the irregularities characterising the contracts to embody imposition of contractors on the ministry and a breach of the then-minister’s approval thresholds.
Holding a contract doc handed to him by Mr Agabi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Mr Odofin described the contract award as questionable and maintained that Mr Sirika accepted that the contract be awarded to his associate “beyond his threshold”.
“He also awarded a contract to a company belonging to his daughter,” the twelfth prosecution witness mentioned.
The EFCC is prosecuting Mr Sirika, alongside his daughter Fatima Sirika, her husband Jalal Hamma, and the couple’s agency, Al Buraq Global Investment, over contracts he allegedly corruptly awarded to the couple and an associate.
One depend accused the previous minister of “felony breach of belief by being dishonestly linked with the unlawful award of N1.5 billion contract for the apron extension at Katsina Airport for the good thing about his daughter and Al Buraq Global Investment Ltd.
Another depend alleged that he was “dishonestly connected with the illegal award” of the Katsina airport contract to the good thing about his daughter and son-in-law.
The EFCC equally accused Mr Sirika in one other cost of conferring unfair benefit on his pal Gabriel Tilmann’s Tianaero Nigeria Limited through the use of his place to award to the agency a consultancy contract for the Nigerian Air start-up to the tune of N1.3 billion.
Yet one other depend accused the previous aviation minister of being dishonestly linked with the “illegal” award of the N1.3 billion consultancy contract for the Nigerian Air nationwide provider start-up.
The then-outgoing administration of President Muhammadu Buhari unveiled the nationwide provider days earlier than handover in May 2023, just for the general public present to be later discovered to be a ruse.
Mr Sirika allegedly disguised an Ethiopian Airlines plane as Nigeria’s nationwide provider, Mr Odofin beforehand mentioned in his testimony, which he began over a 12 months in the past on 30 June 2025.
Mr Sirika and his co-defendants have denied all prices.
Sirika’s advice
But Mr Odofin mentioned beneath cross-examination on Thursday that though nothing on the face of the Air Nigeria consultancy companies contract doc implicated Mr Sirika, he mentioned the award adopted the previous minister’s advice.
“There is nothing implicating the first defendant on the face of the document, but the contract was awarded based on the recommendation of the first defendant (Mr Sirika),” Mr Odofin mentioned.
The witness mentioned Musa Odiniya, the Director of Procurement who earlier testified because the fifth prosecution witness, mustn’t have been the one to signal the doc.
The witness said that whereas Mr Sirika was not a part of the Ministerial Tenders Board (MTB), Abel Enitan, the ministry’s everlasting secretary, headed the board.
Despite this, “Al Buraq was imposed on the tender Board to be chosen as a contractor.
The first defendant imposed the corporate. They had been compelled to do the bidding of the primary defendant.”
When the contract was awarded to Al Buraq, Mr Enitan was the CEO and accounting officer of the aviation ministry, the witness said. Similarly, Mr Odiniya, who headed procurement, didn’t point out in any doc that he was prevented from performing his responsibility.
On Al Buraq contract
Fielding questions from Fatima Sirika’s lawyer, Efut Okoi, confirmed that Ms Sirika was not the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Al Buraq Global Investment Limited.
The witness mentioned no land was assigned for the enlargement of the apron on the Katsina airport, and that there was no contract for the enlargement of the apron for Al Buraq.
Asked if he took extrajudicial statements from officers of the Nigerian Air Force, Nigerian Airport Authority and the Katsina State Government on the enlargement of the Katsina airport apron, the witness mentioned no.
Mr Odiniyan earlier testified in courtroom, saying that the contract fee throughout Mr Sirika’s tenure was expedited to make sure the mission was accomplished and ianugurated earlier than former President Buhari left workplace.
Mr Odiniyan additionally mentioned that Al Buraq affiliated to Mr Sirika’s son-in-law and co-defendant was unqualified and wouldn’t have gained the contract beneath a good bidding course of.
My position is proscribed as an Investigator
Mr Odofin affirmed that the EFCC accomplished its investigations in April 2026.
The witness said that his position is proscribed to investigating, submitting studies, and coming to courtroom to testify.
READ ALSO: BDC operator explains roles in fee of Yahaya Bello’s youngsters’s dollar-priced college charges
A voice notice ascribed to Mr Sirika dominated featured prominently in two earlier hearings.
EFCC mentioned the voice represented Mr Sirika’s verbal directions to Mr Enitan, the then-permanent secretary of the aviation ministry, to award the contract to Mr Tilmann.
On Thursday, Mr Odofin defined he didn’t put together the digital forensic report which was utilized in submitting the costs. He mentioned it was ready by Bello Gideon.
But he mentioned the cellphone, an Infinix X professional mannequin belonging to Mr Enitan by which the voice notice was extracted, was not in courtroom.
Thereafter, the trial choose, Slyvanus Oriji, adjourned the case till 20 October for continuation of cross-examination.
Discover extra from Premium Times Nigeria
Subscribe to get the most recent posts despatched to your e-mail.
