The trial of former Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Hadi Abubakar Sirika, continued on Wednesday before Justice S.C. Oriji of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja, with an EFCC witness alleging violations of procurement procedures in contracts linked to the proposed Nigeria Air project.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is prosecuting Sirika on amended six-count charges bordering on abuse of office and alleged misappropriation of public funds amounting to over N2 billion. He is being tried alongside his daughter, Fatima Hadi Sirika, his son-in-law, Hamma Jalal Sule, and Al Buraq Global Investment Limited.
Testifying as the 12th prosecution witness, EFCC investigator Christopher Odofin told the court that due process was not followed in the award of consultancy contracts worth N299 million and an additional N599 million to Tianaero Nigeria Limited.
According to the witness, the Ministry of Aviation had applied for a “Certificate of No Objection” from the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) on March 7, 2022, but the contract was awarded to Tianaero before the approval was received in April of the same year.
He told the court that the first contract was issued on April 4, 2022, while BPP’s approval was only received on April 7, 2022, adding that the second contract extension was also awarded without reference to the procurement agency.
The EFCC witness further alleged that the Bureau of Public Procurement was not informed about the contract extension process, describing it as a complete bypass of established procurement rules.
He said Tianaero Nigeria Limited, the beneficiary of the contracts, was registered in March 2021 and had been incorporated for barely one year before being selected for the Nigeria Air consultancy projects.
The company is reportedly owned by German national Gabriel Tilmann, whom the witness described as a close associate of the former minister.
The court also heard that the two contract sums were paid in full in instalments into different company accounts between 2022 and 2023, while no physical evidence of the proposed Nigeria Air project was presented.
A digital recording containing alleged verbal instructions from Sirika directing that the contracts be awarded to Tianaero was scheduled to be played in court but was postponed due to technical issues.
Justice Oriji adjourned the case to July 8 and 9, 2026, for continuation of the trial.
