An investigator with the EFCC told the court that former Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika breached proper procedures. This happened when he awarded contracts worth nearly N900 million to a single company for Nigeria Air consultancy work.
Christopher Odofin, the 12th prosecution witness, made the allegation before Justice S.C. Oriji in Abuja.
He was testifying in Sirika's trial on charges of abuse of office and misappropriation of public funds.
According to Odofin's testimony, Sirika awarded the first contract to Tianaero Nigeria Limited on April 4, 2022. He did this three days before receiving approval from the Bureau of Public Procurement.
Odofin explained the timeline to the court. The Aviation Ministry had requested clearance from BPP on March 7, 2022, he said.
BPP only responded on April 6, 2022. But the Ministry didn't officially receive the response until April 7.
"The contract award letter had already gone out to Tianaero before we got the BPP response," Odofin told Justice Oriji. He stressed that this violated procurement rules.
Things were worse with the second contract, worth N599 million. Odofin disclosed that Sirika completely ignored BPP procedures for this extension contract.
Both contracts were paid in full to the company. Nothing tangible emerged as Nigeria Air, according to the witness.
Payments for the first contract came in four instalments between May and July 2022. They went into an Access Bank account belonging to Tianaero.
The second contract's N599 million was split into two payments from October to December 2022. These went into a Guaranty Trust Bank account.
Odofin revealed that Tianaero's owner is Gabriel Tilmann, a German national. He described Tilmann as Sirika's close friend and associate.
Investigators found that Tianaero was barely one year old when Sirika selected it. Yet the former minister deemed it suitable to help establish Nigeria's national carrier.
Sirika is facing trial alongside his daughter Fatima Hadi Sirika and son-in-law Hamma Jalal Sule. Al Buraq Global Investment Limited is also a defendant in the case.
The charges against them relate to misappropriation of over N2 billion in public funds. The amended indictment contains six counts of abuse of office and financial misconduct.
