A witness for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has testified before an Abuja federal capital territory (FCT) high court that Hadi Sirika, former aviation minister, awarded contracts to a company allegedly linked to his son-in-law, Jalal Sule Hamma.
Sirika is standing trial alongside his daughter, Fatima, and son-in-law, Hamma, on a six-count amended charge relating to contract fraud amounting to N2,825,032,220.97.
According to the EFCC, Sirika allegedly used his position to grant an undue advantage to Al Buraq Global Investment Limited, a company whose alter ego is Fatima Hadi Sirika and Jalal Sule Hamma. One of the allegations involves Sirika influencing the award of a contract for the Apron Extension at Katsina Airport to the company for the sum of N1,498,300,750.
During cross-examination on Monday, January 27, Musa Odiniyan, a retired director in the procurement department of the Ministry of Aviation, testified that the company would not have qualified for the contract under an open and competitive bidding process.
“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,” Odiniyan said.
The witness further alleged that Sirika’s son-in-law’s company was paid 100 per cent of the contract fee upfront, with the expectation that the project would be commissioned before former President Muhammadu Buhari left office 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,” Odiniyan stated.
He added, “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.” The case was adjourned by the presiding judge to March 10, 2025, for the continuation of cross-examination.
