Former Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, his daughter, Fatimah, and two other suspects, will on Thursday be arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The suspects are facing charges over alleged N2.7 billion contract fraud uncovered in the Aviation Ministry under Sirika.

The embattled former Minister would be arraigned for trial for the first time, before Justice Sylvanus Oriji of the Federal High Court in Abuja on Thursday.

Sirika is billed to appear in court with his three co-defendants, his daughter, Fatima; one Jalal Hamma, and Al-Duraq Investment Ltd, on charges of abusing their positions to launder over N2.7 billion.

More to come…

Nigeria’s President, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu has returned to Nigeria after trips to The Netherlands and Saudi Arabia.

On April 22, Tinubu departed Abuja for the Kingdom of The Netherlands on an official visit.

According to presidential spokesperson Ajuri Ngelale, Prime Minister Mark Rutte invited the president to visit The Netherlands.

Following his commitments in the Netherlands, Tinubu travelled to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on April 28 and 29, where he attended a special gathering of the World Economic Forum (WEF).

Bayo Onanuga, special adviser on information and strategy to the president, had said the president and his aides will return to Nigeria on Wednesday.

“President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, along with his aides, will return to Nigeria tomorrow from Europe,” Onanuga wrote.

On Wednesday, Onanuga confirmed the president’s return by tweeting: “Welcome home Mr. President.”

The suspect arrested in connection with the murder of a lady, Glory Akpaku, in Delta State, Akpoveta School, has narrated how he allegedly killed the victim by stabbing her multiple times.

According to an interrogation video shared on X (formerly known as Twitter) by the Delta State Police Public Relations Officer, Bright Edafe, on Monday, the suspect disclosed that the victim was his sugar mummy before her demise.

It was gathered from the video that things went south between Akpoveta and the late Akpaku over the sum of N100,000 he allegedly kept with the deceased for safekeeping, but which the deceased allegedly refused to give him when he needed the money.

The suspect claimed that he had gone to Akpaku to demand the money but, instead of receiving it, she insisted that she would give it to him after returning from the market.

The suspect narrated further that he threatened the victim to report their relationship to her son, but the victim threatened back that if he did so, she would not give him the money in her custody.

He added that the threat from his alleged lover infuriated him, which led him to stab her with a knife in the neck, hand, and stomach.

Akpoveta narrated in pidgin English (now translated), “She asked me to save some money with her and that she would return the money to me later. But when I needed the money, she refused to give it to me. Rather, she became angry.

“She asked me to escort her to the market, and I thought she would give me the money, but she insisted that she would give it to me after she returned from the market.

“I told her that I would tell her child, and she said if I told the child, she would not return my money. While she was going in front, I took a knife that I had with me and stabbed her in the neck, hand, and stomach.”

The suspect stated further that he regretted his action but blamed the devil for it.

Reacting to the confession, Edafe urged members of the public to learn from it.

The PPRO wrote, “I share stories like this so we can learn from the mistakes of others. So this suspect allegedly murdered his sugar mummy over her failure to give him back the money she was helping him save. When asked why he did it, he said, ‘NA DEVIL WORK’.”

Meanwhile, giving further updates on the incident, the PPRO noted that the incident happened in April and the suspect would be charged in court upon the conclusion of the ongoing investigation.

“The incident happened in April. He will be charged in court as soon as the investigation is concluded,” Edafe concluded.