A witness in the trial of former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, has alleged that contracts were awarded to companies that were unqualified to handle them.
Testifying on Monday, January 27, 2025, the fifth prosecution witness, Musa Odiniyan, appeared before Justice S.C. Oriji at the Federal Capital Territory High Court. He claimed that Al Buraq Global Investment was unfit to manage a contract for the repair of Katsina Airport, awarded during Sirika’s tenure as Minister of Aviation.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is prosecuting Sirika alongside three others—Fatima Hadi Sirika, Jalal Sule Hamma, and Al Buraq Global Investment—on a six-count amended charge of contract fraud involving N2.8 billion.
Under cross-examination by Michael Numa, SAN, counsel for the fourth defendant, Odiniyan stood by his testimony, asserting that Al Buraq would not have qualified for the contract in a fair and competitive bidding process.
“We use some criteria for determining the award of contracts for companies. I still maintain that if it was an open competitive bidding, the company Al Buraq may not have qualified,” Odiniyan stated.
Odiniyan explained that payments for the contract were expedited to ensure the project’s completion and commissioning before the tenure of former President Muhammadu Buhari ended. “The reason for that payment was for the project to be implemented and commissioned before the exit of the former president. It was not for variation. The accounting officer sourced money from every relevant route to actualise the project. The N800 million is a budgetary allowance to support the actualisation of the project,” he testified.
A retired director from the Procurement Department of the Ministry of Aviation, Odiniyan also pointed out discrepancies in the documentation of contracts for the Katsina Airport’s Apron and Terminal Building, awarded to Al Buraq and Enginos respectively. While the projects were listed under separate budget codes, they appeared under a single code in the Procurement Department’s records.
Justice Oriji adjourned the case to March 10, 2025, for the continuation of the cross-examination.
