Witness tells court Sirika violated procurement procedures in Nigeria Air project
A prosecution witness in the trial of former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, has told the Federal Capital Territory High Court on Wednesday that procurement procedures were violated 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 allegation while testifying before Justice S.C. Oriji in Abuja in the case involving Sirika, his daughter Fatima Hadi Sirika, his son-in-law Hamma Jalal Sule, and Al Buraq Global Investment Limited over alleged abuse of office and the diversion of more than N2 billion in public funds.
Odofin told the court that Sirika approved a N299 million consultancy contract for Tianaero Nigeria Limited and later authorised an additional N599 million contract extension for the same firm without compliance with procurement rules.
He said the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development had written to the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) on March 7, 2022, seeking a Certificate of No Objection, but went ahead to award the contract on April 4, 2022, before receiving approval.
The witness also alleged that the Bureau of Public Procurement was not informed of the subsequent contract extension, adding that payments were fully made to the company despite limited evidence of project execution.
“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,” Odofin told the court.
Proceedings were briefly stalled when prosecutors attempted to play an audio recording allegedly containing Sirika’s directive to award the contracts to Tianaero, but technical difficulties prevented it from being played. The court subsequently adjourned the case until July 8 and 9, 2026, for continuation of trial.
