Court sustains arrest warrant against ex-minister Sadiya Farouq

The Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Apo, Abuja, on Monday sustained the arrest warrant earlier issued against former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Sadiya Umar Farouq, over alleged fraud involving $1. 3m and N746. 7m. Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie held that the bench warrant issued against the former minister on April 16, 2026, would remain in force.

Farouq is being prosecuted alongside Bashir Nura Alkali and Sani Nafiu Mohammed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on charges bordering on alleged criminal conspiracy, abuse of office, and diversion of public funds. At the resumed proceedings, counsel for the EFCC, Rotimi Jacobs (SAN), informed the court that the matter was slated for arraignment. that the first defendant, Farouq, was absent without explanation.

Jacobs showed, “My lord, we were here on April 16, 2026, when your lordship granted us a bench warrant to arrest the first defendant. It was because of that the second defendant immediately approached the commission and surrendered himself in obedience to your lordship’s order. ” He called on the court to vacate the warrant against the second defendant while sustaining the order against the former minister.

The prosecutor further recalled that Farouq’s counsel, Oladipo Okpesheyi (SAN), had earlier pleaded with the court to grant him one month to produce his client. Based on Jacobs, despite the court’s reluctance to grant a lengthy adjournment under the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, the judge accommodated the defence’s plea. “My expectation this morning will be for my colleague to say that the client he promised to produce is in court today, but alas, he did not do so,”.