The trial of former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, over alleged contract fraud involving the Nigeria Air project took a dramatic turn before the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja as the court listened to an audio recording allegedly involving the former minister and a senior official of the Ministry of Aviation.
Sirika is standing trial before Justice Sylvanus Oriji alongside his daughter, Fatima Hadi Sirika; his son-in-law, Hamma Jalal Sule; and Al Buraq Global Investment Limited, a company linked to his daughter.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission is prosecuting the defendants on an amended six-count charge bordering on alleged abuse of office and contract fraud involving about ₦2.7 billion.
At the resumed proceedings, a prosecution witness and investigator with the EFCC, Assistant Commander Christopher Odofin, told the court that the voice in the recording belonged to Sirika.
Odofin said the conversation was allegedly between the former minister and the then Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Aviation, Enitan Abel.
According to the witness, the recording was a voice note allegedly sent by Sirika from Spain to the Permanent Secretary.
He said the nearly 70-year-old man referred to in the voice note was Prof. Gabriel Tilmann, whom he described as the alter ego of Tinaero Nigeria Limited.
The witness said the recording captured Sirika allegedly telling the Permanent Secretary that he would assign someone to Tilmann to guide him on how consultancy work was carried out in Nigeria.
Odofin identified the person to be assigned as Yasir, whom he described as a cousin of the former minister.
He further testified that Sirika described Tilmann as someone who was “comfortable” with the ministry and a very good friend.
According to the EFCC investigator, the content of the recording suggested that Tilmann was unpopular among some ministry officials because he allegedly imposed himself on them.
The flash drive containing the audio recording was tendered by the prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, and admitted in evidence as Exhibit 37B.
The defence reserved its objection to the admissibility of the recording until final addresses.
Odofin also told the court that Tinaero Nigeria Limited was incorporated barely one year before it was awarded two contracts, a development the EFCC considers relevant to its case against the defendants.
During cross-examination by Sirika’s counsel and former Attorney-General of the Federation, Chief Kanu Agabi, SAN, the witness identified Exhibit 9 as the Ministry of Aviation’s letter to the Bureau of Public Procurement seeking a no-objection certificate to adopt selective tendering for critical capital projects.
He confirmed that the document was signed by the then Permanent Secretary, Enitan O. Abel.
The witness also identified Exhibit 11 as the response of the Bureau of Public Procurement approving the ministry’s request to adopt selective tendering for the projects.
However, under cross-examination, Odofin admitted that neither Exhibit 9 nor Exhibit 11 made any reference to Sirika.
He also confirmed that the documents forwarded to the Bureau of Public Procurement were signed by the Permanent Secretary and that nothing on the face of the documents showed that Sirika induced the Permanent Secretary to seek the approval of the bureau.
The witness said Enitan, as the ministry’s accounting officer, was responsible for acting on the BPP’s response and had done so in that capacity.
He, however, maintained that the contract ought not to have been awarded to Tinaero Nigeria Limited, given that the company had been incorporated barely a year before the award.
When asked why the Permanent Secretary was not charged alongside Sirika if the procurement process was considered flawed, the witness said the decision on who to prosecute was not within the responsibility of an investigator.
The court also admitted as exhibits an order freezing the bank accounts of the third defendant, Hamma Jalal Sule, and the fourth defendant, Al Buraq Global Investment Limited, maintained with Zenith Bank.
The EFCC alleges that the defendants used the contracts to confer an unfair advantage in relation to the Nigeria Air project.
The defendants have denied the allegations.
They maintain that the national carrier initiative predated Sirika’s appointment and originated from a presidential committee under former President Muhammadu Buhari.
They also contend that the project was handled under a Public-Private Partnership framework, with procurement supervised by the Infrastructure Concession Regulatory Commission and other statutory agencies, rather than by the minister alone.
Justice Oriji later adjourned the matter to October 14, 15 and 20, 2026, for continuation of trial.
The adjournment followed an application by the prosecution to allow Agabi, counsel to Sirika, time to mark his 80th birthday with his family and well-wishers.
The application was not opposed by other defence counsel in the matter.
In granting the adjournment, Justice Oriji urged the parties to use the period to explore the possibility of an amicable out-of-court settlement.
The adjourned sitting had been scheduled for the continuation of the cross-examination of the 12th prosecution witness.
The other defendants are represented by Mahmud Magaji, SAN, Sanusi Musa and Michael Numa, SAN.
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