By Yemi Oyeyemi
An investigator with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Christopher Odofin, on Thursday admitted before the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja, that former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Abubakar Sirika, did not sign the award letter for a disputed ₦599 million consultancy contract.
Odofin also acknowledged under cross-examination that the contract documents tendered by the prosecution did not, on their face, establish Sirika’s direct involvement in the contract award process.
The revelations came during proceedings before Justice Sylvanus Oriji, sitting in Maitama, Abuja, as Sirika’s counsel and former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Kanu Agabi, SAN, questioned the prosecution witness on the documentary evidence supporting the charges.
Confronted with the relevant contract documents, Odofin confirmed that Sirika was not a member of the Aviation Ministry’s Ministerial Tenders Board, which awarded the contract.
The witness further admitted that nothing on the face of the documents indicated that the ministry’s Director of Procurement, who signed the contract papers, lacked the authority to do so.
However, Odofin maintained that the former minister was charged over an alleged oral instruction concerning the ₦599 million contract, which the investigator claimed exceeded the applicable approval threshold. He further alleged that the contract was awarded to an associate of Sirika.
Questions over forensic evidence
Further questions during the cross-examination focused on electronic evidence allegedly extracted from the telephone of the former Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Aviation, Abel Enitan.
Odofin admitted that the telephone from which the voice recording was extracted was not before the court. He also said there was no evidence before him that the extracted material had been served on the owner of the telephone.
The investigator disclosed that the EFCC concluded its investigation on April 26, 2024, when the charges were filed against the defendants. However, he said he was unaware of the additional proofs of evidence subsequently filed by the prosecution.
He equally said he did not know how the number of witnesses listed in the initial proof of evidence increased from 11 to 20.
Under further questioning by Efut Okoi, counsel to the second defendant, Fatima Sirika, the witness admitted that she was not the Chief Executive Officer of Al Buraq Global Investment Limited, the company awarded the contract for the expansion of the apron at Katsina Airport.
Odofin also told the court that the digital forensic report relied upon in filing the charges was not prepared by him but by another investigator, Bello Gideon.
He further stated that he did not personally obtain extrajudicial statements from officers of the Nigerian Air Force, the relevant airport authorities and the Katsina State Government concerning the Katsina Airport apron expansion project.
The witness confirmed that Enitan was the Permanent Secretary of the Aviation Ministry and chairman of its Ministerial Tenders Board at the time the contract was awarded to Al Buraq Global Investment Limited.
EFCC’s ₦2.8bn case against Sirika, others
Sirika is standing trial alongside his daughter, Fatima; his son-in-law, Hamma Jalal Sule; and Al Buraq Global Investment Limited over a six-count charge bordering on alleged abuse of office and contract fraud involving approximately ₦2.8 billion.
The EFCC accused the former minister of using his position to confer an unfair advantage on Al Buraq Global Investment Limited by influencing the award of a contract worth ₦1,498,300,750 for the expansion of the apron at Katsina Airport, among other alleged offences.
The prosecution’s allegations include breaches of provisions of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000; the EFCC (Establishment) Act, 2004; and the Penal Code Act applicable in the Federal Capital Territory.
The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The latest proceedings form part of the prosecution’s effort to establish the alleged offences through documentary, testimonial and electronic evidence, while the defence continues to challenge the evidence and the circumstances surrounding the disputed contract awards.
Case adjourned
Following Thursday’s proceedings, Justice Oriji adjourned the case until October 20 and 28, 2026, for the continuation of the cross-examination of Odofin.