A prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Abubakar Sirika, has alleged that the ex-minister used his office to improperly award aviation contracts worth ₦2.7 billion to companies owned by his daughter, son-in-law, and younger brother.
Testifying before Justice S.C. Oriji of the FCT High Court, Maitama, the 12th prosecution witness, Christopher Adekunle Odofin, an investigator with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), detailed how Sirika split a single aviation contract into two—valued at ₦1.3 billion and ₦1.4 billion—to avoid seeking approval from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) and the Federal Executive Council (FEC).
The contract for Terminal Building and Apron Expansion, originally one project, was awarded on August 18, 2022, to Enginos Nigeria Ltd, owned by Sirika’s brother, and Al Buraq Global Investment Ltd, owned by his daughter Fatima Hadi Sirika and son-in-law Hamma Jalal Sule.
Odofin revealed that Fatima and Hamma each held 500,000 shares in Al Buraq and served as signatories to its bank accounts. Both were public servants at the time—Fatima with the NNPC Ltd, and Hamma with the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority and later the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission.
Following the contract award, the Ministry of Aviation paid the entire ₦1.3 billion to Al Buraq’s Zenith Bank account. Investigations showed multiple suspicious transfers from the account, including:
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₦182 million to Hamma Jalal Sule’s personal account
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₦110 million to a fixed deposit account in his name
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₦7.4 million to Fatima’s Jaiz Bank account
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₦8.2 million to Hamma’s salary account at Access Bank
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₦500 million to Trimak Engineering Services Ltd for unrelated government contracts
Odofin stated that despite the full payment, no work has been done on the Apron Expansion project. Over ₦549 million remains in Al Buraq’s account under interim forfeiture.
He also confirmed that the extra-judicial statements of the second and third defendants (Fatima and Hamma) were taken in the presence of their lawyer, but their defence teams challenged their admissibility, claiming they were not made voluntarily.
Justice Oriji ordered a trial-within-trial to determine the voluntariness of the statements and adjourned proceedings to October 27, 28, and 29, 2025.
Sirika, Fatima, Hamma, and Al Buraq Global Investment Ltd are standing trial on a six-count amended charge bordering on abuse of office and money laundering.
