Hadi Sirika's Trial: Witness Confirms Separate Airport Contracts

Engineer Isaiah Ganiyu Yesufu, a prosecution witness in the trial of former Minister of Aviation Hadi Abubakar Sirika, testified that the contracts for the terminal building and apron expansion at Katsina Airport were separate projects. This contradicted his previous assertion that they were a single project.

Yesufu, who is the Director of Certification, Compliance and Monitoring at the Bureau of Public Procurement, clarified during cross-examination by Michael Numa, SAN, that the two projects had distinct budgetary codes and appropriations. Sirika, alongside his brother Ahmad Abubakar Sirika and two companies, Al-Buraq Limited and Enginos Nigeria Limited, is facing a 10-count charge related to alleged abuse of office and criminal breach of trust, with accusations of awarding contracts worth approximately N19.4 billion to his brother.

The alleged offences occurred between August 2022 and May 2023, violating multiple sections of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act and the EFCC (Establishment) Act.