EFCC To Arrest Sadiya Umar Farouq, Bashir Nura Alkali Over $1.3m, ₦746.6m Fraud

Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja yesterday issued warrants of arrest for former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, and former Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Bashir Nura Alkali.

The pair failed to appear for their scheduled arraignment by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over an alleged $1.3 million and ₦746.6 million fraud. Only the third defendant, Sani Nafiu Mohammed, was present in court.

NaijaChoice News gathered that the EFCC is prosecuting the trio on a 21-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust, abuse of office, fraudulent contract awards and conversion of public funds. The money in question was excess payment made to Visual ICT Limited between May 2021 and September 2022 for the validation of Rapid Response Register beneficiaries under the National Social Safety Net Coordinating Office.

EFCC prosecutor Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, told the court the charge was filed on December 15, 2025, but the first and second defendants could not be served until recently. He said their lawyers had earlier promised to produce them, yet they stayed away even after fresh service ordered by the court.

Jacobs added that Farouq’s passport was released in 2024 for medical treatment in Saudi Arabia but was never returned. No medical report from that trip has been submitted to the commission, he stated.

Counsel to Farouq, Abdul Ibrahim, SAN, argued her absence was due to ill health and tried to tender an affidavit of fact. The court rejected the application.

The EFCC had contacted the surety of the third defendant, who appeared in court alongside him. The anti-graft agency described the case as a clear case of entrusted public funds diverted for personal benefit.

This latest development has once again thrown the spotlight on the Humanitarian Affairs Ministry, which managed huge intervention funds meant for poor and vulnerable Nigerians during the last administration. Many Nigerians still recall the controversies that trailed cash transfers, school feeding and palliative programmes under the ministry.

The EFCC says it will now move swiftly to arrest Farouq and Alkali to face trial. The court has fixed no new date yet pending their appearance.

Accountability for public funds remains a major concern across the country as the Tinubu administration pushes its renewed hope agenda.