A prosecution witness in the ongoing trial of former
Aviation Minister, Hadi Abubakar Sirika, has told the Federal Capital Territory
High Court that the former minister violated due process in the award of
consultancy contracts linked to the Nigeria Air project.
The witness, Christopher Odofin, an investigator with the
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), made the disclosure on
Wednesday while testifying before Justice S.C. Oriji in Abuja.
Sirika is standing trial alongside his daughter, Fatima Hadi
Sirika, son-in-law, Hamma Jalal Sule, and Al Buraq Global Investment Limited on
amended six-count charges bordering on abuse of office and the alleged
misappropriation of more than N2 billion in public funds.
Odofin, who appeared as the 12th prosecution witness, told
the court that Sirika awarded a N299 million consultancy contract to Tianaero
Nigeria Limited for services related to Nigeria Air and later approved an
additional N599 million contract extension for the same company without
following established procurement procedures.
According to the witness, the Ministry of Aviation and
Aerospace Development wrote to the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) on March
7, 2022, seeking a Certificate of No Objection for the engagement of
consultants. However, he said the ministry awarded the contract to Tianaero on
April 4, 2022, before receiving the BPP’s response.
“Before the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development
received a response from BPP, the contract award letter had already gone out to
Tianaero Limited,” Odofin told the court.
He further alleged that the BPP was not informed at all
about the subsequent N599 million contract extension awarded to the company.
The witness also testified that Tianaero Nigeria Limited,
owned by German national Gabriel Tilmann, a man he described as a close
associate of Sirika, received full payment for both contracts.
Odofin said the initial N299 million contract was paid in
four tranches between May and July 2022 through the company’s Access Bank
account, while the N599 million contract extension was settled in two
instalments between October and December 2022 through its Guaranty Trust Bank
account.
Despite the payments, the witness argued that there was
little evidence of tangible outcomes from the Nigeria Air project.
He also informed the court that Tianaero Nigeria Limited had
been registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission on March 29, 2021, barely
a year before it was awarded the contracts.
“My lord, it is important to also state that Tianaero
Nigeria Limited was registered with the Corporate Affairs Commission on the
29th March 2021, barely one year before these contracts were awarded to the
company,” he said.
Proceedings were briefly delayed when prosecutors attempted
to play a compact disc said to contain a verbal instruction allegedly issued by
Sirika directing the ministry’s permanent secretary to ensure the contracts
were awarded to Tianaero Nigeria Limited. The recording could not be played due
to technical difficulties and was deferred to the next hearing date.
Justice Oriji subsequently adjourned the case until July 8
and 9, 2026, for continuation of trial.
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