The proof offered via the Financial and Monetary Crimes Fee (EFCC) to make stronger its case of corruption in former Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirika’s award of N1.5 billion airport contract to his kinfolk all over his time in administrative center got here beneath scrutiny from the defence on Wednesday.
Attesting because the sixteenth prosecution witness, EFCC investigator Christopher Odofin confronted a torrent of questions beneath cross-examination via the defence attorney for Al Buraq World Funding Restricted, a co-defendant awarded the debatable contract.
The corporate is connected to Mr Sirika’s daughter, Fatima Sirika, and her husband, Jalal Hamma, each whom the EFCC accused of benefitting from the contract awarded on Mr Sirika’s watch as minister.
EFCC is prosecuting the trio of Mr Sirika, Fatima, and Mr Hamma, along Buraq World Funding Restricted on an array of fees sooner than the FCT Prime Court docket in Maitama, Abuja.
The six counts introduced via the anti-graft company come with the allegation that Mr Sirika used his place because the then-aviation minister, between 2015 and 2023, to confer an unfair merit thru a freelance award price N1.5 billion on Al Buraq World Funding Restricted.
The N1.5 billion contract which the EFCC alleged used to be corruptly awarded to Al Buraq used to be the Katsina airport apron extension. Al Baruq is the fourth defendant within the trial.
Additionally, the anti-graft company alleged that Fatima and her husband held oblique non-public pursuits within the contract, with N1.3 billion allegedly traced to Mr Sirika as proceeds of prison habits within the type of gratification.
All defendants pleaded now not to blame to all fees, which additionally come with alleged corruption referring to some other contract in regards to the botched Air Nigeria.
Al Buraq’s attorney, M.J. Numa, a Senior Recommend of Nigeria (SAN), made efforts to puncture EFCC’s case whilst cross-examining Mr Odofin on Wednesday.
Mr Numa wondered the thoroughness of EFCC’s investigation into the case, embodied via Mr Odofin’s testimony.
Below cross-examination, the EFCC investigator, a celebrity prosecution witness who has been attesting since 30 June 2025, stated he used to be ignorant of the dispute between the Nigerian Air Pressure, the Federal Airports Authority of Nigeria, and the Katsina State Executive over the website online of the contract awarded to Al Buraq World Funding Restricted on the Katsina airport.
He additionally admitted that he didn’t take extrajudicial statements from officials of the Nigerian Air Pressure, FAAN and the Katsina State Executive in regards to the dispute.
He additionally stated he used to be now not mindful that the dispute stalled Al Buraq’s execution of the challenge.
Responding to some other query from Mr Numa, the investigator stated he didn’t know if the EFCC used to be conscious about the dispute sooner than charging the defendants in court docket and if the EFCC used to be furnished with paperwork in regards to the stated dispute.
“It’s not that i am conscious about a dispute between the Air Pressure and FAAN over the land. I additionally have no idea that the dispute averted Al Buraq from shifting to the website online. Additionally, I don’t know if the contract used to be re-awarded to Al Buraq and it used to be requested to transport to the website online.”
The witness, alternatively, maintained that the contracts for the terminal development and the growth of the apron on the Katsina airport had been one. Mr Odofin stated when he opened his testimony about 17 months in the past that the previous minister break up the contracts in favour of his kinfolk.
Then again, on Wednesday he showed that the Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP) gave popularity of the contracts.
When requested if he knew that Al Buraq had different administrators with the exception of the couple, Mr Odofin spoke back sure and affirmed that not one of the different administrators used to be charged.
Thereafter, the trial pass judgement on, Slyvanus Oriji, adjourned the trial till 19 November.
Earlier testimonies
In July 2025, Mr Odofin advised the court docket that Al-Buraq used to be paid in complete for the contract.
A retired director within the Procurement Division, Ministry of Aviation, Musa Odiniyan additionally said that contract bills all over Mr Sirika’s tenure had been fast-tracked to verify of completion sooner than President Muhammadu Buhari left administrative center.
Then again, previous this month, Mr Odofin stated no land used to be assigned for the growth of the apron at Katsina Airport, and that no contract existed for the growth of the apron for Al Buraq.
In earlier complaints, defence attorneys for Fatima Sirika and her husband, Mr Hamma, faced Mr Odofin with questions in regards to the couple’s employment to turn that they maintained a blank report at their places of work in spite of dealing with fees.
The couple paintings at separate federal government-owned oil sector organisations. Whilst Ms Sirika works on the Nigerian Nationwide Petroleum Corporate (NNPC) Restricted, her husband, Mr Hamma works on the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Fee (NUPRC).
Fielding questions beneath cross-examination from the couple’s defence attorneys, Christopher Odofin, an EFCC detective attesting because the sixteenth prosecution witness, stated he used to be now not conscious about any pending proceedings in opposition to them at their places of work.
Except for searching for to turn the couple maintained blank information at paintings, the defence groups additionally attempted to determine that they weren’t affiliated to the Ministry of Aviation which is on the centre of the contract-related fees introduced up within the trial.
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