$1.3 million, N746,574,303.00 Fraud: Court issues arrest order against former Humanitarian Minister Sadiya

A former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development in the former President Muhammadu Buhari administration, Sadiya Farouq has allegedly stolen the sum of $1,300,000 and the N746,574,303 while in office.

She is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC before the Hon. Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie-led
High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Abuja.

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On Thursday, the issued a warrant for the arrest of former Minister for failure to appear without a Court approved absence.
The Court similarly ordered the arrest of
Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Bashir Nura Alkali who was highly complicit in stealing of the fund.

The duo are facing a 21-count charge brought before the Court by the EFCC, and instead of appearing to answer, they became evasive and derelict against the Court procedure.

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The charge sheet accused the suspects of breach of public trust, abuse of office, fraudulent award of contracts, and conversion of public funds totalling about $1,300,000 and N746,574,303.

On Thursday, when the case came up in Court, Sadiya Farouq and the Permanent Secretary were absent. It was only the third defendant, Sani Nafiu Mohammed that was present in court.

Prosecution counsel, Mr. Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, told the court that although the charge was filed on December 15, 2025, the first and second defendants remained evasive—a situation that made it impossible for the anti-graft agency to serve them.

Jacobs, SAN, noted that although the defendants, who were on administrative bail, could not be produced for arraignment, lawyers they had briefed to represent them had promised that they would appear for trial.

He added that only the third defendant had reported to the commission when his surety was contacted.

The EFCC’s lawyer added that the former minister had written a letter to the agency in 2024, seeking permission for a medical check-up in Saudi Arabia, which led to the release of her international passport.

“My Lord, since that passport was released to her, she has not returned it to the commission. We do not have the medical report from Saudi Arabia to date. Only this morning, my friend served me with an affidavit of facts from the learned senior counsel for the first defendant, in which the deponent claimed that the first defendant had fallen ill.

“My Lord, all the medical reports that my friend attached to the affidavit were issued after the charge had been filed.

No medical report was issued or shown to us for the approved journey and passport release,” Jacobs, SAN, added.

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