Dare Babalola
A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) in Abuja has issued a warrant of arrest against a former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, and a Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Bashir Nura Alkali, over alleged fraud involving $1.3 million and N746.6 million.
The warrant was issued on Thursday by Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie following the failure of the two defendants to appear in court for their scheduled arraignment. Only the third defendant, Sani Nafiu Mohammed, was present in court.
The trio are being prosecuted 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 diversion of public funds.
According to the charge, Farouq and Alkali, while serving in their respective capacities, allegedly misappropriated an aggregate sum of $1.3 million between May 2021 and September 2022.
The funds were said to be excess payments made by the ministry under the National Social Safety Net Coordinating Office (NASSCO) programme for the validation of Rapid Response Register beneficiaries, which were meant to be refunded by a contractor, Visual ICT Limited.
The EFCC alleged that the defendants fraudulently converted the funds for personal use, an offence punishable under Section 315 of the Penal Code.
During proceedings, prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), told the court that although the charge had been filed since December 15, 2025, the commission had been unable to produce the first and second defendants for arraignment.
He noted that their legal representatives had previously assured the court they would present them, but failed to do so.
Jacobs further informed the court that Farouq had earlier written to the commission indicating she would travel to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment in 2024, after which her passport was released to her.
However, he said she had neither returned the passport nor provided any medical report to justify her continued absence.
“My lord, since that passport was released to her, she has not returned it to the Commission. We do not have the medical report in Saudi Arabia till date,” Jacobs said, adding that documents recently presented by her counsel were issued after the charges had already been filed.
Counsel to the former minister, Abdul Ibrahim (SAN), attributed her absence to ill health and sought to tender an affidavit to that effect. However, the court rejected the application.
Following the development, Justice Onwuegbuzie granted the prosecution’s request and issued a warrant for the arrest of the two absent defendants, paving the way for further proceedings in the case.
