Just days after being arraigned for an alleged N2.7 billion fraud, former Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika is set to face fresh charges over an alleged N19.4 billion scam involving his younger brother and his company.
Sirika, his brother Ahmad, and their firm Enginos Nigeria Limited will be arraigned before Justice Belgore of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Garki, Abuja today by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The anti-graft agency is accusing the trio of abuse of office, conferring unfair advantage and money laundering over various contracts allegedly inflated and awarded by Sirika to Enginos while he was Aviation Minister.
One of the charges read: “Sirika, while being the Minister of Aviation, on or about 18th August 2022, in Abuja, did use your position to confer an unfair advantage upon Enginos Nigeria Limited, whose alter ego, Ahmad Abubakar Sirika, is your biological brother, by using your position to influence the award to him, the contract for the construction of a terminal building at Katsina Airport for the sum of N1,345,586,500.00.”
ALSO READ: Alleged N2.7bn fraud: Court Grants N100m Bail Each To Sirika, Daughter, 2 Others
The EFCC also alleged that the infraction violated Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
Trouble started brewing for the Sirika brothers in August 2022 when petitions alleged Hadi had been awarding inflated contracts to companies linked to his younger brother Ahmad.
Investigations revealed that between August 2022 and May 2023, the former minister allegedly awarded over N19.4 billion worth of contracts to Enginos Nigeria Limited owned by Ahmad Sirika.
This included a N3.8 billion deal for “the establishment of Fire Truck Maintenance and Refurbishment Centre at Katsina Airport” and another N615 million contract to “procure and install lift and air conditioners and power generators for the Aviation House in Abuja.”
Beyond the contract scam allegations, the EFCC further accused Hadi Sirika of money laundering, claiming “between August 2022 and May 2023 in Abuja, you had possession of an aggregate sum of N2,337,840,674.16, which sum you knew indirectly represented the proceeds of criminal conducts.”
ALSO READ: IMF Urges FG to Discontinue Electricity Subsidy
The arraignment today comes just four days after Sirika, his daughter Fatimah, son-in-law Jalal Hamma and firm Al-Buraq Investment Ltd were arraigned for a separate N2.7bn fraud. They all pleaded not guilty and were granted N100m bail each.
With the new N19.4bn charges, the former minister faces an uphill legal battle to clear his name of the multiple fraud allegations trailing his tenure as Aviation Minister.
