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Witness to the prosecution of the twelve, PW12, Christopher Adekunle Odofin in the trial of the former Aviation Minister, Hadi Abubakar Sirika on Tuesday, July 1, 2025 told the FCT High Court, Maitama, Abuja, among them with Judges 29, contract 22, that the defendant used his position as a minister sitting His position as a minister sat 11, November, 2016, May, that the defendant used his position as a minister sitting 11, November, 2016, May, that the defendant used his position as a minister sitting 11, November, 2016, that the defendant used his position as a minister sitting 11, 11, November, 2016, May, that the defendant was a siting minister from November, November.
Hadi Sirika, who became the first defendant, stood trial with his daughter, Fatima Hadi Sirika, son -in -law, Hamma Jalal Sule and Al Buraq Global Investment Limited on the accusations of six counts that were changed, bordering the abuse of offices and money laundering up to N2.7 billion.
LED by Prosecution Counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, San, The Witness, Who is an Investigating Officer with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, disclosed that the contract for the terminal building and apron expansion was a single contract as designed in series. Public Procurement, BPP’s Response to the Federal Ministry of Aviation in a Letter Dated June 6, 2022. Howver, The First Defendant, He Disclosed, Used His Influence to divide the contract into two and give parts for the Engine Nigeria Limited at N1.3 billion and other parts for Al Buraq Global Investment LTD in N1,4 billion. By giving a separate contract of respectively N1.3 billion and N1.4 billion, he is said to have avoided returning to the BPP and the Federal Executive Council, FEC for their approval because both contract numbers are included in the threshold of the number of contracts he can approve as ministers.
Further investigations, said the witness, showed that Enginos Nigeria Ltd, who was awarded by the defendant. Both contracts were given on the same day, August 18, 2022.
Furthermore, in his testimony, the witness revealed that the second defendant, Fatima Hadi Sirika, after the merger of Al Buraq Global Investment Limited, the fourth defendant on June 7, 2021, became the Corporate Secretary until February 2024, when he stepped sideways after the start of the criminal investigation by EFCC.
Also, the second defendant at the fourth defendant’s merger, said the witness, had 500,000 of the company’s 1,000,000 shares of the company, until February 2024 and remained a significant control of the fourth defendant as the signing of his account, domiciled in the Bank’s Guarantee. In all this, the second defendant, he said, remained a civil servant to date, working at the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, NNPCL, which was only owned by the Federal Government, which was involved in 2020.
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The witness also revealed that Hamma Jalal Sule, the third defendant at the fourth defendant’s merger on June 17, 202, had 500,000 company shares, until February 2024 with the start of a criminal investigation by EFCC and remained a significant control as a signing of his account, Domicil in Zenith. The second and third defendants, he said, married on December 25, 2020 in the state of Katsina and that the third defendant began his public service career in 2021 at Nigeria Nuclear Regulatory Authority, NNRA, but resigned in 2023 and switched to the Nigeria Upstream Perminum Regulation Commission, NUPRC in the same year and worked at NUPRC. “While both of them are civil servants, they were established, had the fourth defendant and also used the fourth defendant to get a government contract at the Federal Aviation Ministry where the second defendant’s father and the father -in -law of the third defendant were ministers,” the witness said.
Further testing, the witness said that after the apron expansion contract to Al Buraq Global Investment Limited on November 14, 2022, the Ministry of Aviation under Hadi Sirika, paid N1.3 billion with several fractions after tax to the Zenith bank account from the company, representing 100 percent payment of the number of contracts. He also revealed that after receiving payments, the cumulative amount of N182 million was transferred on a different date to the personal account of the third defendant, with N110 million transferred to a permanent deposit account, owned by the third defendant. Witnesses further explained that the payment of the contract amount was 100 percent solely based on the approval of the first defendant as the sitting airline minister.
He added that “Furthermore, upon payment of N1.3 billion, the sum of n7.4million was transferred to the personal account of the second defendant in jaiz bank; n8.2 million was transferred to the salary account of the third defendant in the access bank, Ltd and Was Never Utilized for the Contract, “but was expended on another contract Awarded to Trimak Engineering Services Ltd from other government agencies.
According to witnesses, from the total number of N1.3 billion contracts paid, the number of more than N549 million still exists in the company’s account that has an interim command that is placed on it. Witnesses further revealed that there were other transfers to individuals and companies that were not connected to the implementation of the apron expansion contract.
Asked about the contract status, the witness said, “Nothing is done.”
Extra-Yuditional statements from the second and third defendants to EFCC, the witnesses revealed, were taken before their lawyer, Suleiman Usman Kuku, a lawyer at the second defendant’s office.
Objection from the legal counsel to the second and third defendants, MA Magaji, San and Sanusi Musa, San, each failed to stop the recognition of the extra-judicial statements of the defendants in the court, which they had to claim that the statement was not given voluntarily in accordance with section 15 (4) and 17 (2) Administration of the ACJA Criminal Justice Law.
The judge must decide for the trial-in-test to determine whether the statement was taken voluntarily and in the compliance section 15 (4) and 17 (2) ACJA or not and delayed the problem up to 27, 28 and 29 and 29, 2025 for the start of the trial in the trial.
