Azubuike Okorie, a witness for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the trial of former Aviation Minister Hadi Sirika, testified in a High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) that, under the Procurement Act, the responsibility for compliance lies solely with the Permanent Secretary of the ministry.

The witness, a retired Director of Procurement in the ministry and a special assistant to the former minister, said this while testifying as the second prosecution witness (PW2) in the corruption charges against the former minister who served under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

Sirika was dragged before Justice Suleiman Belgore, sitting at Garki, Abuja by EFCC, alongside his brother, Ahmad Abubakar Sirika and two companies, Enginos Nigeria Limited, said to be owned by the former Minister’s brother and Alburaq Limited.

They are being prosecuted by the EFCC on a 10-count charge bordering on abuse of office, criminal breach of trust and use of position for gratification.

The anti-graft commission alleged that the former minister awarded various contracts to his younger brother to the tune of about N19.4 billion without following due process of law.

EFCC alleged that Sirika conferred unfair advantage on Enginos Nigeria Limited, whose alter ego is his biological brother, Ahmad, by using his position to influence the award of contract for the construction of a terminal building at Katsina Airport for the sum of N1,345,586,500.

The anti-graft agency further alleged that the former minister used his position to influence the award of contract for the establishment of Fire Truck Maintenance and Refurbishment Centre at Katsina Airport for the sum of N3,811,497,685.

It also, among others, alleged that Ahmad and Enginos Nigeria Limited had possession of the aggregate sum of N2,337,840,674.16 which they knew indirectly represented the proceeds of criminal conduct of the former minister.

The offences, according to EFCC, were committed in Abuja between August, 2022 and May, 2023.

The prosecution said that the offences are contrary to the provisions of Sections 12 and 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000; Section 17(b) of the EFCC (Establishment) Act, 2004 as well as Section 315 of the Penal Code Act, Cap 532, Acts of the Federal Capital Territory and punishable under the same Acts.

The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.

At the resumed trial on Thursday, the witness, while being cross examined by the counsel for the former minister, Kanu Agabi, SAN, told the court that the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Aviation was its accounting officer who had responsibility for all contracts awarded by the ministry.

According to him, Sirika was not a member of the ministry’s ministerial tender board, adding that award of contracts were based on memoranda presented by the contract secretariat headed by the Director of Procurement of the ministry.

Okorie said that the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) was the body responsible for issuance of no objection to contracts and added that for the contract in contention before the court, a certificate of no objection was issued by the Bureau.

“There was a certificate of no objection to this particular contract but I was not at the department (of procurement) at that time. The certificate of no objection means the contractor is eligible,” he told the court.

He said that the determination of eligibility was the sole responsibility of the BPP and that the former Minister’s role was merely that of concurrence when the tender board had made an award.

He explained that he made a statement to EFCC when its operatives searched his car and found some documents and they branded him a suspect thereafter.

According to him, “I don’t know what they suspected me for. Yes, I signed but this suspicious thing was not there when I did.”

He told the court he did not inform the former minister when he took away from his (Sirika’s) office the documents EFCC found in his car and tendered as Exhibit B in court, adding that there was no record in the Minister’s office that he took the document away.

The witness had earlier in his evidence-in-chief told the court that he retrieved Exhibit B with other documents from Sirika’s office, made photocopies, which he kept for himself and forwarded others to the Permanent Secretary of the ministry and the director of procurement.

He said when he saw the folder containing the documents, there was a label attached to it, directing that the documents be dispatched to the permanent secretary and the director of procurement.

He told the court that he knew Enginos Nigeria Limited when as the chairman of the implementation committee as special assistant to the former minister the members visited Katsina and all contractors were invited.

He confirmed knowing the founder of Enginos Nigeria Limited, who he said was Ahmad Abubakar Sirika, the second defendant in the case.

When asked if he knew the relationship between the former minister and the second defendant, the witness said, “Going by his name, I should think he is his brother.” This elicited laughter in the courtroom.

He, however, said he did not know the second defendant as a civil servant in the services of the Federal Government.

After the cross examination by counsel for the former minister, Justice Belgore adjourned the case to November 12-14 for continuation of cross examination by counsel for other defendants and continuation of trial.