Abubakar Ahmad Sirika, the brother of the recently-departed minister Hadi Sirika, has had his account frozen by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) due to a suspected N8.06 billion contract fraud at the Federal Ministry of Aviation.
The anti-graft agency revealed this, according to The Nation, following Abubakar Sirika’s arrest for contract fraud involving approximately N3.2 billion, which was linked to his private company, Engirios Nigeria Limited.
In addition, Abubakar Sirika works as a deputy director and Level-16 officer for the Federal Ministry of Water Resources.
Rumor has it that during his brother’s tenure as ministry head, Abubakar’s Engirios Nigeria Limited was given four significant contracts.
Abubakar Ahmad Sirika is identified by EFCC investigators as the company’s MD/CEO and the only signatory to the two bank accounts connected to the business.
The following four contracts, which the former minister gave to his brother but never followed through on: N1.3 billion for the construction of the Katsina Airport Terminal Building; N3.8 billion for the Fire Truck Maintenance and Refurbishment Center at Katsina Airport; N615 million for the purchase and installation of elevators, air conditioning units, and power generator house in Aviation House, Abuja; and N2.3 billion for the purchase of a Magnus aircraft and simulator for the Nigerian College of Aviation Technology, Zaria.
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Out of the entire contract amount, investigators discovered that N3.2 billion had been paid to Engirios Nigeria Limited. After receiving the money, he supposedly gave it to several businesses and people.
Additionally, the investigators claimed that no work had been done on any of the contract items up to this point.
After former President Buhari Muhammadu was re-elected in 2019, Hadi Sirika became the official Minister of Aviation for Nigeria, having previously served as Minister of State in 2015.
Additionally, Sirika was connected to the now-famous Nigeria Air incident.
