The 12th Prosecution Witness (PW12), Christopher Odofin, in the trial of former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Abubakar Sirika, on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, told Justice S.C. Oriji of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Abuja, how Sirika allegedly passed off an aircraft belonging to Ethiopian Airlines as the promised Nigeria Air by the government of the late President Muhammadu Buhari.
The decoy aircraft, adorned with the livery of the proposed Nigeria Air, landed on the tarmac of the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, on May 27, 2023, three days before the expiration of the Buhari administration, and was flown back to Addis Ababa on the morning of May 29, 2023, the handover date to the succeeding government.
Hadi Sirika is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on an amended six-count charge bordering on alleged abuse of office and misappropriation of public funds amounting to over ₦2 billion, alongside his daughter, Fatima Hadi Sirika; son-in-law, Hamma Jalal Sule; and Al Buraq Global Investment Limited.
The contract for the establishment of Nigeria Air was awarded to Tianaero Nigeria Limited, a company belonging to Gabriel Tilmann, described as a close associate and friend of the former minister.
Reading from a portion of the contract agreement with Ethiopian Airlines, the witness, an investigator with the EFCC, stated: “The aircraft will depart from Addis Ababa (ADD) late evening of May 26, 2023, for it to be positioned early morning of May 27, 2023, at the Abuja (ABV) airport. The aircraft will stay at ABV airport for the static display of Nigeria Air livery until May 28, 2023. The aircraft will leave ABV airport early morning on May 29, 2023. The chartered flight will be operated by Ethiopian Airlines crew in Ethiopian Airlines uniforms. The Federal Government of Nigeria and Nigeria Air may put together local models who will be in Nigeria Air uniforms to pose for ceremonial pictures. The models may come to Addis Ababa so they may fly with the chartered flight to ABV.”
The witness told the court that the display of the aircraft at the Abuja International Airport was deliberately planned to coincide with the end of the first defendant’s tenure as Nigeria’s Minister of Aviation and Aerospace Development on May 29, 2023, and to present the aircraft as evidence of the actualisation of his promise to revive Nigeria Air.
He further stated that after the less-than-72-hour display, the Nigeria Air logo was removed from the aircraft and it was returned to Ethiopian Airlines in Addis Ababa.
According to the witness, the investigating team also established that Ethiopian Airlines entered into a charter arrangement for the static display of the Nigeria Air livery for only three days, from May 27 to May 29, 2023. This was based on documents and information received from the airline in a letter dated June 12, 2023, sent in response to the EFCC’s request for information regarding Nigeria Air.
He added that although the contract was purportedly for the establishment of Nigeria Air, the charter agreement with Ethiopian Airlines was entered into on May 24, 2023—just five days before the expiration of Sirika’s tenure—and was solely for a static display of the Nigeria Air logo on an aircraft.
All documents tendered in evidence by the prosecution were shown to have been duly signed, authorised, and accompanied by certificates of identification. None of the counsel representing the four defendants objected to their admissibility.
Among the exhibits was a compact disc containing a voice note from the first defendant, Hadi Sirika, marked as Exhibit 37, which prosecution counsel applied to be played in court at the next adjourned date.
Further in his testimony, the witness disclosed that although the contract for the start-up of Nigeria Air was initially awarded to Tianaero Nigeria Limited for over ₦299 million on April 4, 2022, the company later received a contract extension on October 17, 2022, increasing the sum to over ₦599 million. He alleged that the extension was granted on the instructions and directives of the first defendant due to his relationship with the company’s alter ego.
According to him: “The investigating team arrived at this position when the phone of one Enitan Muyiwa Abel, who was a Permanent Secretary in the first defendant’s ministry, was analysed, revealing a voice note sent to the Permanent Secretary while the first defendant was in Spain, instructing him to ensure that the contract was awarded to Tianaero Nigeria Limited.”
Justice Oriji adjourned the matter until June 17, 2026, for the continuation of the trial.
