The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) will on Tuesday arraign a former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, on fresh charges of fraudulent awards of contracts worth billions of naira.
This is coming less than a week after the anti-corruption agency arraigned the former minister alongside his daughter, Fatima, and her husband, on charges of abuse of office in awarding some contracts.
In the charges, Mr Sirika, who was the aviation minister during President Muhammadu Buhari’s two terms in office, was accused of abusing his office as minister through the award of contracts to a company in which his daughter and her husband had interest.
They pleaded not guilty to all six counts preferred against them before a judge of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Maitama, Abuja, Sylvanus Oriji.
Fresh case
The EFCC will similarly arraign him before another judge of the FCT High Court in Garki, Abuja, S.B Belgore, Tuesday.
There are 18 counts in the fresh case, according top officials of the commission that have been briefed about it.
Mr Sirika is charged in the case alongside his brother Ahmad Abubakar.
Like in the previous case, the defendants stand accused of abuse of office with regard to award of contracts. Also joined with them as a co-defendant is Mr Abubakar’s firm, Enginos Nigeria Limited, which was allegedly awarded the contracts.
Sources say the contracts were cumulatively worth N14 billion.
In one of the counts, the EFCC accused Mr Sirika of using his position as minister to confer “unfair advantage upon Enginos Nigeria Limited,” a company owned by Ahmad Abubakar, Mr Sirika’s biological brother. The contract involving N1.3 billion (N1,345,586,500) was awarded for the construction of a terminal building at Katsina Airport, in breach of Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act 2000.
READ ALSO: UPDATED: EFCC arraigns ex-minister Sirika, daughter, others
The prosecution, in another count, alleged that Mr Sirika, in November 2022, used his position to influence the award of another contract to Enginos Nigeria Limited for the establishment of fire truck maintenance and refurbishment centre at Katsina Airport to the tune of N3.8 billion (N3,811,497,685) in violation of the ICPC Act.
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