The trial of former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, over an alleged N2.7 billion fraud took a dramatic turn on Wednesday as the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja played an audio recording in open court, with a prosecution witness identifying the voice in the recording as that of the former minister.
The recording was played before Justice S.C. Oriji during the continuation of proceedings in the case instituted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against Sirika and three others over alleged procurement-related offences.
The prosecution’s 12th witness (PW12), Assistant Commander of the EFCC, Christopher Odofin, while being cross-examined by defence counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, confirmed that the voice in the recording belonged to Sirika and that the conversation was between the former minister and the then Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Aviation, Enitan Abel.
According to the witness, the recording was a voice note sent by Sirika from Spain to the permanent secretary, in which the former minister discussed a controversial consultancy arrangement involving one Prof. Gabriel Tilman, whom the EFCC described as the alter ego of Tinaero Nigeria Limited.
Odofin told the court that Sirika was heard saying he would assign an individual identified as Yasir to guide Tilman on consultancy procedures in Nigeria. The witness identified Yasir as a cousin of the former minister.
He further testified that Sirika referred to Tilman as a close friend who was “comfortable” with the ministry, adding that the former minister acknowledged that some officials within the ministry were not favourably disposed to him, a conclusion the witness drew from Sirika’s statement that “some people did not like him.”
The EFCC investigator also informed the court that Tinaero Nigeria Limited was incorporated barely one year before it secured two government contracts, a development the prosecution considers significant in proving its case against the defendants.
During the proceedings, the court admitted into evidence an order freezing the bank accounts of the third defendant, Hamma Jalal Sule, and the fourth defendant, Al Buraq Investment Global Limited, both maintained with Zenith Bank.
Sirika is standing trial alongside his daughter, Fatima Hadi Sirika; his son-in-law, Hamma Jalal Sule; and Al Buraq Investment Global Limited, a company allegedly linked to his daughter.
Under cross-examination by Sirika’s counsel, Kanu Agabi, SAN, the EFCC witness identified Exhibit 9 as a letter from the Ministry of Aviation to the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) requesting a no-objection certificate to adopt the selective tendering method for critical capital projects. He confirmed that the document was signed by the ministry’s Permanent Secretary, Enitan O. Abel.
Odofin also identified Exhibit 11 as the BPP’s response approving the ministry’s request to adopt selective tendering for the projects.
However, under further cross-examination, the witness acknowledged that neither Exhibit 9 nor Exhibit 11 contained any reference to Hadi Sirika, a point the defence highlighted as proceedings in the high-profile corruption trial continue.
