A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) sitting in Apo has issued an arrest warrant against former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq.
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The presiding judge, Jude Onwuegbuzie, also ordered the arrest of Bashir Nura Alkali, a permanent secretary in the ministry.
The orders followed an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) after the defendants failed to appear in court for their scheduled arraignment on Thursday.
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Umar Farouq, Alkali, and Sani Mohammed are facing a 21-count charge bordering on breach of trust and abuse of office.
The EFCC alleged that the defendants misappropriated about $1.3 million and N746.6 million, including funds meant to be refunded to the ministry under a social intervention programme, which were allegedly diverted for personal use.
At Thursday’s court session, only Sani Mohammed was present.
The prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, told the court that although the charges were filed on December 15, 2025, the first and second defendants could not be arraigned due to their absence.
He said their legal representatives had previously undertaken to produce them but failed, prompting the court to order substituted service.
Jacobs added that while all defendants have now been served, only the third defendant responded to the commission after his surety was contacted.
He further told the court that the former minister had in 2024 sought permission to travel to Saudi Arabia for medical treatment, after which her passport was released, but she has yet to return it or provide a medical report.
According to him, an affidavit filed by the defence on the day of the hearing claimed she was ill, but the attached medical reports were issued after the charges had already been filed.
In response, defence counsel, Abdul Ibrahim, said his client’s absence was due to ill health and attempted to tender an affidavit, but the court declined to admit it.
Umar Farouq served as minister between 2019 and 2023 under former President Muhammadu Buhari.
