A prosecution witness has told the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama, Abuja, that former Minister of Aviation Hadi Sirika allegedly imposed his friend on the ministry for a ₦1.3bn consultancy contract linked to the failed Nigeria Air project.
Economic and Financial Crimes Commission investigator, Christopher Odofin, made the allegation on Wednesday while being cross-examined by defence counsel Kanu Agabi, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), in Sirika’s ongoing corruption trial.
Odofin, the 12th prosecution witness, maintained that due process was not followed in awarding the contract to Gabriel Tilmann, a professor whose firm, Tianaero Nigeria Limited, was engaged for consultancy services relating to the national carrier’s start-up.
“The man was imposed by the first defendant (Sirika) on the ministry,” the witness told the court.
The cross-examination also focused on a voice note allegedly belonging to Sirika, which the prosecution had played in court in July. In the recording, the speaker was heard instructing another person, believed by the EFCC to be the ministry’s then-permanent secretary, Enitan Abel, to prepare a contract for Tilmann’s company.
“Do the right thing. Generate the necessary contract and give it to his company. In that way, we can be paying for his services,” the voice note stated.
The recording also described the proposed contractor as “quite resourceful and very energetic”.
Agabi questioned Odofin on Wednesday about whether an energetic person was not qualified for the job. The investigator, however, maintained that Sirika had imposed Tilmann on the ministry.
Odofin said the EFCC did not question Tilmann during its investigation because he was outside the country. He added that efforts to reach the professor were unsuccessful.
The witness further alleged that due process was followed only after the contract had been awarded.
Following the proceedings, Agabi requested an adjournment. The EFCC’s counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, a SAN, did not oppose the application, and the trial judge, Justice Sylvanus Oriji, adjourned the case until Thursday.
Sirika is standing trial alongside his daughter, Fatima Sirika, her husband, Jalal Hamma, and their company, Al Buraq Global Investment, on six counts bordering on alleged contract fraud, abuse of office and gratification.
The charges include allegations that Sirika used his position to confer an unfair advantage on Tianaero Nigeria Limited through the ₦1.3bn Nigeria Air consultancy contract, allegedly awarded between April 2022 and March 2023.
Other counts concern an alleged ₦1.5bn contract for the apron extension at Katsina Airport, which the EFCC claims was awarded for the benefit of his daughter and son-in-law’s company. The prosecution also accused the defendants of possessing ₦1.3bn allegedly traced to Sirika as proceeds of criminal conduct.
The defendants have denied all six charges.
The Nigeria Air project was unveiled in May 2023, days before the end of the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari. The prosecution has alleged that an Ethiopian Airlines aircraft was presented as the national carrier during the unveiling and flown back to Ethiopia after three days.
The Nigerian Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA) subsequently rejected an application by Nigeria Air to proceed to the next stage of the process for obtaining an Air Operator’s Certificate, citing inadequate preparation for the airline’s operations.
Odofin has been testifying in the case since June 2025, with his evidence focusing on the failed national carrier project and contracts associated with its proposed launch.
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