Justice S.C. Oriji of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Maitama, on Monday admitted additional documents as evidence in the ongoing trial of Hadi Sirika, former Minister of Aviation, over alleged N2.7 billion fraud.
The development came during the hearing of the case instituted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which is prosecuting Sirika alongside his daughter, Fatima Sirika; son-in-law, Jalal Sule Hamma; and Al Buraq Global Investment Limited.
The defendants are facing an amended six-count charge bordering on abuse of office and money laundering to the tune of N2.7 billion.
According to a statement signed by Dele Oyewale, Head of Media and Publicity at the EFCC, Monday’s proceedings featured the testimony of the ninth prosecution witness (PW9), a retired General Manager of Administration and Human Resources at the Nigerian Nuclear Regulatory Authority (NNRA).
The witness, who had been led in evidence by EFCC counsel, A.O. Atolagbe, told the court that he had received a request from the Commission regarding the employment status of the third defendant, Jalal Sule Hamma.
The EFCC stated that at the time, Hamma was a staff member of the NNRA, having been employed in November 2021. It also said that the witness revealed that Hamma resigned from the agency after two years of service, and before his employment was confirmed.
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“The witness further testified that a few months after Hamma’s resignation, another request for information was received, this time from the midstream and downstream oil sector seeking details about Hamma’s tenure at the NNRA. In response to both requests, the witness provided documents that included Hamma’s letter of appointment, letter of resignation, approval for withdrawal of service, evidence of one-month payment in lieu of notice, and a list of NNRA properties he returned upon disengagement. The documents were presented on NNRA letterhead and endorsed by the witness,” the statement reads.
However, the attempt by the prosecution to tender the documents as evidence met strong resistance from Hamma’s counsel, Sanusi Musa, and counsel for the fourth defendant, M.J. Numa.
“They objected on grounds that the documents were not properly certified, and that the witness failed to establish a proper foundation for their admissibility. Musa also pointed out that the letter was said to be from the midstream and downstream sector, not from the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), casting doubt on the credibility and relevance of the document,” the EFCC said.
Citing Section 104 of the Evidence Act, the defence argued that only the first two pages of the documents were certified true copies, and no payment was made for certification of the remaining pages.
In his counter-argument, Atolagbe maintained that documents with attachments are admissible as a whole, and that the omission of certified copies of attachments can be remedied by the court. He cited the case of Textile Applied Products Ltd vs H Stephens Ltd to back his claim. Atolagbe further asserted that the witness had clearly identified the documents and referenced the “upstream” sector during his testimony, even if he also mentioned “midstream.”
After listening to arguments from both sides, Justice Oriji ruled in favour of the prosecution, stating that the witness had sufficiently identified the documents during his testimony, and that the absence of payment for certified copies was not enough to render the documents inadmissible. The judge ordered that the necessary payments be made for the certification of the remaining pages.
The case was adjourned to May 6, 2025, for continuation of the trial.
