A Federal Capital Territory High Court has issued a warrant for the arrest of former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Sadiya Farouq, over her failure to appear for arraignment in an alleged fraud case.
The order was granted by Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie, who also directed the arrest of a Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Bashir Nura Alkali, for the same reason.
The court’s decision followed an ex-parte application filed by counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), after both defendants failed to attend court as scheduled.
The former minister, who served between 2019 and 2023 and oversaw major social intervention initiatives including the National Social Investment Programme, is facing allegations linked to financial mismanagement.
According to the EFCC, the defendants are being prosecuted on a 21-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust, abuse of office, fraudulent contract awards, and diversion of public funds.
The commission alleged that the accused were involved in the diversion of $1.3 million and N746.6 million, funds said to be connected to government programmes.
The EFCC specifically claimed that Farouq and Alkali converted $1.3 million that was meant to be refunded to the ministry by Visual ICT Limited.
The money reportedly represented excess payments under a programme handled by the National Social Safety Net Coordinating Office for validating Rapid Response Register beneficiaries.
Before moving the application for arrest, the prosecution sought and obtained leave of court to amend the charge by removing the name of a third defendant, Sani Mohammed, who was present in court.
Jacobs informed the court that although the charges were filed on December 15, 2025, the two principal defendants had repeatedly failed to present themselves for arraignment.
He added that their legal representatives had previously assured the court of their availability but did not fulfill the commitment.
The prosecution further disclosed that Farouq had travelled to Saudi Arabia in 2024 for medical treatment after her passport was released to her, but she had neither returned the travel document nor submitted a medical report to justify her continued absence.
According to the EFCC, medical records later presented by her legal team were dated after the charges had already been filed.
Counsel to the defendants, Abdul Ibrahim, however, told the court that the former minister’s absence was due to ill health.
Following the submissions, Justice Onwuegbuzie granted the application and issued a warrant for the arrest of the defendants.
The matter was subsequently adjourned to May 18 for arraignment.
