*Three weeks after court issued arrest warrant
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, wanted over alleged abuse of office and diversion of public funds, intensifying efforts to bring her before the court in an ongoing high-profile financial misconduct case.
The anti-graft agency, in a notice published on its official website on Saturday, called on members of the public with useful information about the whereabouts of the former minister to contact any of its offices nationwide through the phone numbers provided.
According to the EFCC, Umar Farouq, 52, is from Zamfara State, with her last known address listed as EN008, Okpo River, off Agulu Street, Maitama, Abuja.The former minister served under ex-President Muhammadu Buhari between 2019 and 2023.
The EFCC is currently investigating alleged fraud involving about N37 billion linked to the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs during her tenure in office.
The development comes weeks after a Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Apo, Abuja, issued a warrant for her arrest following her failure to appear for arraignment alongside other defendants.
On April 16, 2026, Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie granted an order of arrest against Umar Farouq and a former Permanent Secretary in the ministry, Bashir Nura Alkali, after both defendants failed to appear in court for their scheduled arraignment.
The order was granted following an application filed by the EFCC, which accused the defendants of repeatedly evading arraignment despite being duly served with charges and court .
The case has attracted national attention due to the prominence of the accused persons and the scale of the alleged financial misconduct.Also joined in the matter is one Sani Nafiu Mohammed, who was present in court on the scheduled hearing date.
According to court records, Umar Farouq, Alkali and Mohammed are facing a 21-count charge bordering on alleged criminal breach of trust, abuse of office, fraudulent contract awards and conversion of public funds running into approximately $1.3 million and N746,574,303 during their time in office.
The EFCC alleged that the offences were committed between May 8, 2021, and September 22, 2022, in Abuja, while the defendants occupied key positions in the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development.
