By AbdulHakeem Salami
Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the arrest of former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, and the Permanent Secretary of the same ministry, Bashir Nura Alkali, after both officials failed to appear before the court for their scheduled arraignment on Thursday, April 16, 2026.
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The ruling was delivered by Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Apo, following a request by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), which is prosecuting the defendants on a 21-count charge involving alleged criminal breach of trust, abuse of office, and diversion of public funds.
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Mrs Farouq, who was in office from 2019 to 2023, supervised key social intervention programmes, including the National Social Investment Programme.
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Her alleged offences, alongside those of Alkali and a third defendant, Sani Nafiu Mohammed, relate to the misappropriation of funds under the National Social Safety Net Coordinating Office (NASSCO).
The EFCC is prosecuting the defendants on a 21-count charge bordering on breach of trust, abuse of office, fraudulent award of contract and conversion of public funds totalling about $1,300,00 and N746,574,303.
According to Count One of the charge, the accused persons, while serving in their respective capacities as Minister and Permanent Secretary, allegedly converted the sum of $1,300,000 to their personal benefit between May 8, 2021 and September 22, 2022.
The funds were meant to be refunded to the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development by Visual ICT Limited, being excess funds paid under the National Social Safety Net Coordinating Office programme for validating Rapid Response Register beneficiaries. The EFCC stated that the alleged offences contravene Section 315 of the Penal Code and are punishable under the same section.
At Thursday’s hearing, only the third defendant, Sani Nafiu Mohammed, was present in court. Prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), informed Justice Onwuegbuzie that the charges were filed on December 15, 2025, but the first and second defendants had not been available for arraignment.
Jacobs further disclosed that the first defendant. Farouq travelled to Saudi Arabia in 2024 for medical treatment after her passport was released by the Commission, but she has yet to return it or provide any medical report.
The prosecution told the court that all medical documents presented by the defence on the day of the hearing had been issued only after the charges were filed, none predating the approved journey or the passport release.
The court rejected an affidavit of fact tendered by the first defendant’s counsel, Abdul Ibrahim (SAN), who sought to excuse her absence on grounds of ill health. Defence counsel urged the court to grant a six-week period within which to produce the first defendant. The court, however, was unmoved.
The EFCC maintained that the defendants had repeatedly failed to comply with court summons and bail conditions, urging the court to compel their appearance through arrest warrants. Justice Onwuegbuzie granted the application and issued bench warrants for the arrest of both Farouq and Alkali.
The case was adjourned until May 18, 2026, for arraignment and trial.
