A Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Apo, has issued a warrant for the arrest of 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 fraud case.
According to a statement on the X handle of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), justice Jude Onwuegbuzie gave the order on Thursday following an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which is prosecuting the defendants on a 21-count charge.
The charges border on alleged criminal breach of trust, abuse of office, fraudulent award of contracts and diversion of public funds amounting to about $1.3 million and N746.6 million.
At the proceedings, only the third defendant, Sani Nafiu Mohammed, was present in court, while Farouq and Alkali were absent.
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Prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), told the court that the case had been filed since December 15, 2025, but efforts to produce the first and second defendants had been unsuccessful.
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“We could not arraign them on 15 December, because we could not produce them but their lawyers in court promised that they would produce the defendants but we didn’t see them until your lordship made an order for the state service. The defendants have now been served, my lord, only the third defendant has reported to the Commission when his surety was contacted. The third defendant’s surety is also in court,” he said.
Jacobs further informed the court that the former minister had earlier been granted permission to travel abroad for medical reasons but had not complied with conditions attached to the approval.
“My lord, since that passport was released to her, she has not returned the passport to the Commission. We do not have the medical report in Saudi Arabia till date. Only this morning, my friend served me with an affidavit of fact, the learned senior counsel for the first defendant, wherein the deponent claimed that the first defendant took ill, my lord, all the medical reports which my friend attached to the affidavit of facts were issued after the charge had been filed. No medical report was issued or shown to us for the approved journey and the release of her passport,” he added.
Counsel to the first defendant, Abdul Ibrahim (SAN), attributed her absence to ill health and urged the court to admit an affidavit to that effect, but the application was rejected.
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One of the charges against the defendants alleges that they, while in office, were entrusted with $1.3 million meant to be refunded to the ministry by a contractor but allegedly converted the funds for personal use.
“That you Sadiya Umar Farouq, While being Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, and Bashir Nura Alkali while being the permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, between 8 May 2021 and 22 September 2022, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, and in such capacity entrusted with certain property to wit, an aggregate sum of $1,300,000.00… committed criminal breach of trust in respect of the said property when you fraudulently converted the said sum to your personal benefit,” part of the charge read.
The court subsequently granted the EFCC’s request and ordered the arrest of the two defendants to compel their appearance for arraignment.
