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A big court case is happening in Abuja, and it is about a former government official who was in charge of aeroplanes and airports. Hadi Abubakar Sirika, who used to be the Minister of Aviation, is in trouble. On Tuesday, 1 July 2025, a man named Christopher Adekunle Odofin told the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Maitama that Sirika did something wrong. He said Sirika gave important government contracts to his own family members. Sirika is in court with his daughter, Fatima Hadi Sirika, his son-in-law, Hamma Jalal Sule, and a company called Al Buraq Global Investment Limited. They are accused of stealing N2.7 billion by not using their positions properly and moving money in a bad way. Odofin, who works with the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), explained what happened. He said Sirika took a big contract for building a terminal and expanding an apron at an airport and split it into two parts. One part, worth N1.3 billion, went to a company called Enginos Nigeria Limited, owned by Sirika’s younger brother, Hamad Sirika. The other part, worth N1.4 billion, went to Al Buraq Global Investment Limited, owned by Sirika’s daughter and son-in-law. Both contracts were given out on the same day, 18 August 2022. By splitting the contract, Sirika avoided asking for permission from important government groups like the Bureau of Public Procurement and the Federal Executive Council. Odofin said this was wrong because Sirika used his power as a minister to help his family. The court also heard that Fatima, Sirika’s daughter, helped start Al Buraq Global Investment Limited in June 2021. She owned half of the company’s shares and was a big part of it until February 2024, when the EFCC started looking into the case. Fatima works for the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited, a government company, and her husband, Hamma, works for another government organisation called the Nigeria Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission. Odofin told the court that after Al Buraq got the N1.3 billion contract money, some of it was moved to other people’s accounts. For example, N182 million went to Hamma’s personal account, and N7.4 million went to Fatima’s account. Another N500 million went to a different company, Trimak Engineering Services Limited, but it was not used for the airport contract. Odofin said the airport project has not even started, even though the money was paid. The EFCC found that over N549 million is still in Al Buraq’s bank account, which the court has frozen. There were also other payments to people and companies that had nothing to do with the airport work. Fatima and Hamma wrote statements to the EFCC with their lawyer present, but their lawyers now say those statements were not given freely. The judge, Justice S.C. Oriji, decided there will be a smaller trial to check if the statements were fair. This will happen on 27, 28, and 29 October 2025. This case is making many people talk because it shows how some leaders might use their power to help their families instead of the country. Nigerians are watching closely to see what the court will decide next.
