May 23, (THEWILL) – Former Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika, has again maintained his innocence before a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja, over allegations of N19.4 billion fraud in the aviation ministry.
The former minister was arraigned on Thursday, alongside his brother, Ahmad Abubakar Sirika, and Enginos Nigeria Limited, before Justice S.B. Belgore on a fresh 10-count Charge bothering on contract fraud.
Sirika allegedly breached Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences (ICPC) Act 2000 by awarding contracts to Enginos Nigeria Limited, a company owned by his biological brother, Ahmad.
In one of the counts, the EFCC alleged that Sirika, “while being the Minister of Aviation, on or about 18th August 2022, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this honourable court, did use your position to confer an unfair advantage upon Enginos Nigeria Limited, whose alter ego, Ahmad Abubakar Sirika, is your biological brother, by using your position to influence the award to him, the contract for the construction of a terminal building at Katsina Airport for the sum of N1,345,586,500.00 in breach of Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000″.
The prosecution, in another count, alleged that Sirika, “on or about 3rd of November, 2022, in Abuja”, used his position “to confer unfair advantage upon Enginos Nigeria Limited, whose alter ego, Ahmad Abubakar Sirika, is your biological brother, by using your position to influence the award to him, the contract for the establishment of Fire Truck Maintenance and Refurbishment Centre at Katsina Airport for the sum of N3,811,497,685.00.”
In another count, he was accused of corruptly awarding a N615,195,275.00 contract to his brother to procure and install lift and air conditioners and power generators for the Aviation House in Abuja.
The EFCC alleged that Sirika, between August 2022 and May 2023 in Abuja, “had possession of an aggregate sum of N2,337, 840,674.16, which sum you knew indirectly represented the proceeds of criminal conducts of Hadi Abubakar Sirika, who was the Minister of Aviation at the time.”
According to the anti-graft agency, besides being the Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the company, Ahmad is also the only person authorised to sign for the company’s two accounts, which are held in Zenith and Union banks.
Taking their plea on the charges before Justice S.B. Belgore on Thursday, Sirika and his brother, Ahmad, both pleaded not guilty.
Justice Belgore also granted the former Aviation Minister and his brother bail for N100 million each and two sureties. One of the sureties must own a landed property in the Federal Capital Territory, in like sum. The court also held that the defendants are not to travel outside the shores of Nigeria without the permission of the court.
The court adopted the same conditions in the sister case before Justice Sylvanus Origi of the same court who granted Hadi Sirika, his daughter and son-in-law bail on May 9, 2024.
Ruling on the bail application filed by the 1st defendant, Hadi Sirika, the court held that “the prosecution filed no counter affidavit. He is already on administrative bail, he met all the bail applications, he continues to abide by the bail conditions, he has never been convicted of any criminal offence in Nigeria, he is a recipient of National honours, he has an aged mother he is catering for and investigation in the case has been completed.
“It is my resolution that this applicant deserves to be admitted to bail and I so do.”
On the motion on notice brought under Sections 158, 156, and 135 of ACJA, where Sirika’s brother requested a sole relief, the trial judge granted him bail on the same terms and conditions as the 1st defendant.
THEWILL had reported that the former Minister, his daughter, Fatima and son-in-law, Jalal Sule Hamma, alongside Enginos Nigeria Limited, last week pleaded not guilty to a six-count amended charge of alleged fraud and abuse of office to the tune of N2.7 billion.
All the defendants were also granted bail in the sum of N100 million each while Justice Sylvanus Oriji, a judge of an FCT high court, adjourned to June 10, 11, and 20 for the trial of the case.
Sirika is the immediate past Minister of Aviation. The anti-graft agency began investigating the alleged contract fraud against Sirika while he was still in office.
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