From Fred Itua, Abuja
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), has arrested the immediate-past minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, confirming an exclusive story reported by The Sun on Saturday.
In the exclusive report, The Sun had reported how operatives of the EFCC were closing in on Sirika and other top ministers who served in the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari and vacated office in May.
Sirika was arrested over an ongoing N8,069,176,864.00 money laundering investigation. The embattled former minister, EFCC sources revealed, arrived at the EFCC office around mid day on Tuesday.
It was gathered that Sirika was still being grilled by the EFCC investigators as at the time of filing in this report. He is expected to answer questions on alleged fraudulent contracts awarded by him to a company,Engirios Nigeria Limited, owned by his younger sibling, Abubakar Sirika.
Close allies and relatives of the former minister have already been arrested and quizzed by operatives of the EFCC. Their assets and bank accounts linked to proceeds of crimes, have also been placed under close monitoring.
There are several petitions against him too. In 2017, it was rumoured that the former minister spent $600,000 on logo design contracted to a Bahraini company before the project, then known as Air Nigeria, was suspended.
Later, the Buhari-led Federal Government budgeted up to N800 million between 2017 and 2018 when the pursuit of the project was resumed.
Sirika was also under fire for spending N12 billion to purchase 10 fire trucks, claiming that each truck cost N1.2 billion. Sirika, who was once rumoured to be eyeing the governorship of his native Katsina State, was caught on a video on December 16, 2022 boasting that his party, the All Progressives Congress, had “all the money and other resources…I swear we have the money to get the job done.”
Abubakar Sirika, the immediate younger brother of the former minister, was recently arrested by operatives of the EFCC.
While in office as minister, Sirika was accused of conspiracy, abuse of office, diversion of public funds, contract inflation, criminal breach of trust and money laundering amounting to N8,069,176,864.
According to the Commission, the sum is for four aviation contracts from the former minister to a company known as Engirios Nigeria Limited, owned by his younger brother.