EFCC Witness Alleges Ex-Aviation Minister Sirika Diverted Contracts to Family Firms, Split Project to Evade Oversight

EFCC Witness has alleged that Ex-Aviation Minister Sirika diverted contracts to family firms and split project to evade oversight.

 

NewsOnline Nigeria reports that a prosecution witness on Tuesday detailed before the Federal Capital Territory High Court how former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, allegedly manipulated the award of multi-billion-naira airport contracts to benefit companies linked to his family.

 

Adekunle Odofin, an investigator with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), told Justice Sylvannus Oriji that Sirika deliberately split the contract for the terminal building and apron expansion of the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua Airport in Katsina State into two, allegedly to bypass regulatory scrutiny by the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) and the Federal Executive Council (FEC).

 

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According to Odofin, Sirika awarded one half of the contract to Enginos Nigeria Limited, a firm owned by his brother, Hamad Sirika, and the other to Al Buraq Global Investment Limited, in which his daughter, Fatima Sirika, and her husband, Jalal Hamma, hold interests.

 

“The first defendant (Sirika) used his office to divide the project into two. The terminal building contract was awarded to Enginos, and the apron expansion was awarded to Al Buraq,” Odofin testified.

 

He further alleged that both companies received 100% upfront payment—an unusual and irregular practice in public procurement, which typically mandates phased disbursement tied to project milestones.

 

The EFCC is prosecuting Sirika, alongside his daughter, son-in-law, and their company, Al Buraq Global Investment Limited, on six counts bordering on fraudulent contract awards totaling ₦2.8 billion.

 

The charges include abuse of office and conferring undue advantage on a related party. The commission also alleges that the defendants received large payments from the awarded contracts without executing the work, violating Section 12 of the ICPC Act.

 

According to the prosecution, ₦182 million was traced to Hamma’s Zenith Bank account, with ₦110 million moved into a fixed deposit. Additionally, ₦7.4 million was paid into Fatima Sirika’s Jaiz Bank account, while ₦8.2 million—split between two Access Bank transactions—also landed in Hamma’s salary account.

 

Another ₦500 million was allegedly transferred to Trimark Engineering Services Limited, a firm not connected to the project, and believed to have used the funds for other unrelated government contracts.

 

Odofin revealed that over ₦549 million remains in Al Buraq’s account, and the project has yet to be executed.

 

Earlier in the year, a former Procurement Director in the Ministry of Aviation, Musa Odiniyan, also testified that Al Buraq lacked the technical qualifications to be awarded the project and would have failed under a competitive bidding process. He said the urgent disbursement was justified on the grounds that the project had to be completed before the end of former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

 

During Tuesday’s hearing, EFCC’s lead counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), sought to tender statements by Fatima and Hamma recorded during interrogation. However, the defence opposed the motion, alleging the statements were obtained under duress.

 

Justice Oriji ruled for a trial-within-trial to determine the voluntariness of the statements and adjourned proceedings to October 27, 28, and 29, 2025. All defendants have pleaded not guilty.