The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is to arraign former Aviation Minister, Hadi Sirika, before Justice Sylvanus Oriji of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Maitama on Thursday.
Sirika, nephew and minister to former President Muhammadu Buhari, would be arraigned on six -count amended charge.
He will be arraigned alongside three others, including his daughter, Fatima; Jalal Hamma and Al-Duraq Investment Ltd, for abuse of office to the tune of N2.7billion.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that as part of EFCC investigations into the financial malfeasance allegedly committed by the former minister, “including fraudulent contracts awarded by the ministry under his watch, had on April 23 detained him in Abuja’’.
Sirika was invited by the Abuja Zonal Command of the EFCC on the alleged contract malfeasance and was promptly interrogated and detained at the Formella Street, Wuse 2, Zonal office of the Commission before the decision to take him to court.
“The former minister (Sirika) was invited for questioning by investigators handling the alleged contract frauds under his watch in the ministry.
He honoured the invitation and has been detained as I am talking with you,” a source in the EFCC who pleaded anonymity told NAN’’.
The source also said that EFCC had been investigating the alleged contract frauds while Sirika was in office, and he had even met with investigators before he was detained and the decision to arraign him in court.
NAN reports that the arraignment was earlier slated to hold on Tuesday but due to EFCC prayer to amend the charge, a new date was given.
However, members of the public are yet to see how effective the prosecution would be handled, given the antecedents of trial of VIPs that mostly ended in the initial noise with terribly poor prosecution, believed to have been arranged to deceive the public. (Reports largely from NAN)
