By Our Correspondent
ABUJA — The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja has issued a warrant of arrest against former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, and a Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Bashir Nura Alkali, over their failure to appear for arraignment in an alleged multi-million fraud case.
Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie issued the order on Thursday after the two defendants failed to show up in court for proceedings. Only the third defendant, Sani Nafiu Mohammed, was present.
The trio are to be arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a 21-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust, abuse of office, fraudulent award of contracts, and conversion of public funds.
The alleged offences involve about $1.3 million and ₦746.6 million, said to have been mismanaged during their time in office.
According to the EFCC, the funds were linked to the National Social Safety Net Coordinating Office (NASSCO), particularly payments made for the validation of Rapid Response Register beneficiaries.
In one of the counts, the prosecution alleged that Farouq and Alkali, between May 2021 and September 2022, were entrusted with $1.3 million meant to be refunded to the ministry by a contractor, Visual ICT Limited, as excess payment.
They were, however, accused of fraudulently converting the funds for personal use, an offence punishable under Section 315 of the Penal Code.
Prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), told the court that although the charges were filed on December 15, 2025, the first and second defendants had not been available for arraignment.
He said efforts to produce them in court had failed despite assurances from their lawyers.
Jacobs further revealed that Farouq had earlier written to the commission, citing a medical trip to Saudi Arabia in 2024, for which her passport was released.
However, he told the court that she had neither returned the passport nor submitted any medical report relating to the trip.
He also questioned the authenticity and timing of medical documents recently submitted by her legal team, noting that they were issued after the charges had already been filed.
Counsel to the first defendant, Abdul Ibrahim (SAN), told the court that Farouq’s absence was due to ill health and sought to tender an affidavit to that effect.
However, Justice Onwuegbuzie rejected the application and proceeded to issue a bench warrant for her arrest, alongside that of the Permanent Secretary.
With the arrest warrant now in effect, security agencies are expected to apprehend the absent defendants to ensure their appearance in court.
The case has drawn significant public attention, given the scale of the alleged fraud and the high-profile positions previously held by the accused.
