The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has escalated its legal actions against Hadi Sirika, the former Minister of Aviation, by filing fresh charges over a N19.4 billion fraud linked to aviation ministry contracts. These charges, involving Sirika, his brother Ahmad Sirika, and their company Enginos Nigeria Limited, focus on alleged corrupt practices that unfairly benefited the company owned by Sirika’s younger brother, Abubakar.
Scheduled for arraignment today before Justice Belgore at the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Garki, Abuja, this case marks the second criminal charge against the ex-minister within a week. Last Thursday, Sirika faced the court over a separate N2.7 billion fraud case involving other family members and was subsequently granted bail with stringent conditions.
The new charges accuse Hadi Sirika of using his ministerial position to direct lucrative contracts to Enginos Nigeria Limited, including a N1.34 billion contract for constructing a terminal at Katsina Airport and a N3.81 billion contract for a Fire Truck Maintenance and Refurbishment Centre at the same airport. Additional allegations include the corrupt awarding of a N615 million contract for procurement and installation works at the Aviation House in Abuja.
The EFCC claims that these actions constitute a violation of Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000. Furthermore, Sirika is accused of indirectly possessing over N2.3 billion, which the EFCC alleges are proceeds from these illicit activities.
This legal development follows the arrest and detention of Sirika’s brother, Abubakar, who is directly linked to over N3.2 billion received by Enginos Nigeria Limited. These proceedings underscore the EFCC’s intensified crackdown on corruption within Nigeria’s aviation sector and its broader effort to enforce accountability among public officials.
