N2bn Fraud: How Sirika’s Friend Smiled to the Bank with Zero Planes in the Air

ABUJA — Fresh, damaging details emerged in court on Wednesday as the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) exposed how former Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development, Hadi Abubakar Sirika, allegedly tore up the civil service rulebook to execute the controversial Nigeria Air project.

​Testifying before Justice S.C. Oriji of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja, the 12th prosecution witness, Christopher Odofin, gave a damning step-by-step account of how over N898 million was funneled to a single, newly formed company with absolutely nothing to show for it.

​Sirika is currently standing trial alongside his daughter, Fatima Hadi Sirika, his son-in-law, Hamma Jalal Sule, and Al Buraq Global Investment Limited. The family faces an amended six-count charge bordering on abuse of office and the misappropriation of public funds totaling over N2 billion.

​Cart Before the Horse: Bypassing the BPP

​Odofin, an elite investigator with the EFCC, revealed that Sirika completely sidelined the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) — the nation’s public procurement watchdog — to award multi-million naira consultancy contracts to Tianaero Nigeria Limited.

​According to the EFCC timeline, the Ministry of Aviation wrote to the BPP on March 7, 2022, requesting a mandatory “Certificate of No Objection” to engage the consultant. The BPP penned its response on April 6, 2022, which officially arrived at the Ministry on April 7.

​However, Sirika had already jumped the gun.

​”Before the Ministry of Aviation and Aerospace Development received a response from BPP, the contract award letter had already gone out to Tianaero Limited,” Odofin testified. The former minister had signed and issued the N299 million contract on April 4, 2022 — three days before getting the legal green light.

​If the first contract lacked due process, the second abandoned it entirely. When Sirika decided to award an additional N599 million contract extension to the exact same firm, the BPP was kept completely in the dark.

​The ‘One-Year-Old’ Contractor and the German Friend

​The court heard that Tianaero Nigeria Limited was far from an established aviation powerhouse. Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) records pulled by investigators revealed the company was registered on March 29, 2021. It had been in existence for barely 12 months when Sirika handpicked it as the premier firm to design Nigeria’s national carrier.

​The investigator further established a personal link, stating that Tianaero is owned by Gabriel Tilmann, a German national who happens to be a close friend and associate of the former minister.

​Millions Paid, Zero Planes

​Despite the questionable paperwork, the cash flowed seamlessly. Odofin testified that both contract sums were paid in full to the contractor across 2022.

​The initial N299 million was split into four tranches and paid into the company’s Access Bank account between May 1 and July 22, 2022. The N599 million extension was wrapped up in two massive installments between October and December 2022 via Guaranty Trust Bank.

​Yet, despite nearly N900 million leaving government coffers for these two consultancy contracts alone, the witness noted the obvious: Nigeria Air remains a ghost project with no operational aircraft or infrastructure to account for the expenditure.

ADVERTISEMENT

​Audio Evidence Deferred

​The courtroom drama was set to peak with the playback of a compact disk containing a recorded verbal instruction from Sirika. The EFCC alleges the recording captures the former minister strictly ordering his Ministry’s Permanent Secretary to bypass protocol and ensure Tianaero Nigeria Limited secured the contracts.

​However, technical glitches forced the prosecution to defer playing the audio file.

​Justice Oriji subsequently adjourned the trial to July 8 and 9, 2026, when the audio evidence is expected to be played and the cross-examination of the EFCC investigator will continue.