A witness for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, testified against former Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika in Abuja’s Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court.
According to the witness, Sirika allocated contracts to a firm affiliated to his son-in-law, Jalal Sule Hamma.
According to reports, the anti-graft agency is prosecuting Sirika, his daughter Fatima, and son-in-law Hamma on a six-count amended allegation of contract fraud totaling N2,825,032,220.97.
According to the prosecution, Sirika used his position to give an unfair advantage to Al Buraq Global Investment Limited, whose alter egos, Fatima Hadi Sirika and Jalal Sule Hamma, are his daughter and son-in-law, respectively, by influencing the award of the contract for the Apron Extension at Katsina Airport for N1,498,300,750.
Musa Odiniyan, a retired director in the procurement department of the Ministry of Aviation, stated during cross-examination at the court session on Monday that if open and competitive bidding had been used, the company would not have qualified for the bidding process or contract award.
“We use some criteria for determining the award of contracts for companies. I still maintain that if it was an open competitive bidding, the company, Al Buraq, may not have qualified,” he stated.
The witness also informed the court that Sirika’s son-in-law’s firm was paid a 100 percent fee for the project with the belief that it would be commissioned before the immediate past President Muhammadu Buhari, finished his term in 2023.
“The time of issuing the contract letter to the company (Al Buraq) was at the twilight of the Buhari administration. That was why the contract has a period of six months.
“The reason for the prompt payment (for the contract) was for it to be completed and inaugurated before the exit of the Buhari administration and not for the purpose of variation,” he said.
The judge, thereafter, adjourned the matter till March 10, 2025, for continuation of the cross-examination.
