Operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have arrested Abubakar Ahmad Sirika, the younger brother of former Aviation Minister Hadi Abubakar Sirika.
The arrest, which took place on Sunday, February 4, was linked to the alleged fraud perpetrated by his brother during his tenure as minister.
The ex-minister faces charges of conspiracy, abuse of office, diversion of public funds, contract inflation, criminal breach of trust and money laundering totalling N8,069,176,864.
According to the EFCC, Sirika gave four aviation contracts to Engirios Nigeria Limited, a company owned by his younger brother.
Abubakar, who is the MD/CEO and the only signatory to the company’s Zenith and Union bank accounts, is also a civil servant. He has been a deputy director in the Federal Ministry of Water Resources since 2000. The EFCC sources revealed that the ex-minister ignored his brother’s civil service status and awarded him the contracts.
GistReporters.com further learnt that the ex-minister paid N3.2 billion to his brother’s company, which he then distributed to various entities, without any proof of work done on any of the contracts.