ABUJA, Nigeria – Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Apo, Abuja, has refused to lift the active bench warrant issued for the arrest of the former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq.
Okay News reports that the definitive ruling on Monday, May 18, 2026, marks a major escalation in the high-profile anti-graft trial. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC)—which officially declared Farouq “wanted” nationwide on May 9—is prosecuting the former minister alongside her former Permanent Secretary, Bashir Nura Alkali, and a third accomplice, Sani Nafiu Mohammed. The trio faces a 21-count charge bordering on criminal conspiracy, breach of trust, and the unlawful diversion of $1.3 million and ₦746.7 million in public funds originally earmarked for the National Social Safety Net Coordinating Office (NASSCO).
At the resumed seating on Monday, prosecution counsel Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, expressed deep frustration over Farouq’s continued absence, noting that the trial had been stalled since charges were first filed in December 2025. Jacobs revealed that while the co-defendant, Bashir Nura Alkali, immediately surrendered to the commission following the initial arrest order on April 16, 2026, Farouq’s legal team had completely broken their formal undertaking to produce her in court after being granted a lenient one-month grace window. The EFCC asked the court to maintain the severe enforcement order, disclosing that the commission is actively collaborating with international intelligence partners to track down and extradite the fugitive former cabinet member.
Defending her absence, lead defense counsel Oladipo Okpesheyi, SAN, pleaded for an additional two-month extension, informing the court that he had received digital medical correspondence the previous night indicating his client was currently hospitalized in Egypt. Okpesheyi claimed that Farouq was battling severe health complications and had been advised by medical professionals not to travel. The prosecution countered this excuse, reminding the court that Farouq had failed to return her international passport after receiving administrative clearance to travel to Saudi Arabia in 2024, and that all produced medical notes were retroactively drafted after the criminal indictments were formalized.
Frowning heavily at what he characterized as calculated stalling tactics designed to frustrate the administration of criminal justice, Justice Onwuegbuzie adamantly denied the defense’s request for a long delay. While the judge agreed to lift the bench warrant against the compliant second defendant, he ruled that the arrest warrant against Farouq remains fully active. Warning the defense team that further evasion would face severe judicial penalties, the court granted a final short adjournment to June 8, 2026, ordering her legal team to produce her for formal arraignment, stating, “I will not tolerate unnecessary adjournment in my court… you will go and bring her, even if she is in a wheelchair.”
