Court Issues Arrest Warrants for Ex-Minister Farouq and Alkali

A Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja ordered the arrest of former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, and former Permanent Secretary Bashir Nura Alkali on Thursday after they failed to appear for their scheduled arraignment on fraud charges brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The court, presided over by Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie, issued bench warrants for the two defendants, who face a 21-count indictment alleging breach of trust, abuse of office, fraudulent contract awards, and the conversion of public funds totaling about $1.3 million and 746.6 million naira. Only the third defendant, Sani Nafiu Mohammed, attended the hearing. The charges stem from activities between May 2021 and September 2022, when the accused were entrusted with funds under the National Social Safety Net Coordinating Office for validating beneficiaries in the Rapid Response Register program. Prosecutors claim the pair fraudulently diverted excess payments meant to be refunded to the ministry by contractor Visual ICT Limited.

Rotimi Jacobs, a senior advocate representing the EFCC, told the court that the charges were...