A Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Apo has ordered the arrest of former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, and a Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Bashir Nura Alkali, after they failed to appear for their scheduled arraignment.
The ruling was delivered on Thursday by Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie following an application by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, which is prosecuting the defendants on a 21-count charge involving alleged criminal breach of trust, abuse of office, and diversion of public funds.
The anti-graft agency alleged that about $1.3 million and more than N746 million (about N2.49 billion) were misappropriated during their tenure in office.
At the hearing, only the third defendant, Sani Nafiu Mohammed, appeared in court, while Farouq and Alkali were absent despite being duly served with court processes.
EFCC counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, told the court that all defendants were aware of the arraignment date but failed to appear without justification.
He also noted that the former minister had earlier been granted permission to travel abroad for medical treatment but had neither returned her international passport nor submitted any medical report to the commission.
Counsel to Farouq, Abdul Ibrahim, told the court her absence was due to ill health and attempted to present an affidavit to support the claim, but the court rejected it.
The defence team also requested a six-week adjournment to enable the defendants to appear in court, but the prosecution opposed the application, insisting on the execution of the arrest order.
