Sirika Faces Trial for Breaching Nigeria Air Contract Rules

Hadi Abubakar Sirika, the former Minister of Aviation, is currently on trial at the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja for allegedly violating procurement rules in the awarding of contracts related to the Nigeria Air project. Christoph Odofin, a witness from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), testified that Sirika awarded a N299 million consultancy contract to Tianaero Nigeria Limited without adhering to established procurement procedures.

Additionally, an extension of N599 million was approved without proper notification to the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP). The contracts were awarded on April 4, 2022, despite the BPP's response indicating that the contract award letter had already been issued.

Payments for the contracts were made in multiple tranches, with the N299 million contract settled in four installments from May to July 2022, and the N599 million contract settled in two installments in October and December 2022. The trial has been adjourned until July 8-9, 2026.