*Though Accused Are Innocent Till Proven Guilty, Latest Move Is Another PR Blow Against An Administration That Loudly Flaunted Its Anti-Corruption Credentials
Hajiya Sadiya Umar Farouq, the powerful Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development during the administration of the late President Muhammadu Buhari, is now a wanted person.
The ex-Minister, who was appointed in 2019 at the beginning of Buhari’s second and final term in office and served till 2023 when the then President’s tenure ended, was on Saturday declared wanted by anti-graft body, Economic and Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), for alleged involvement in a multibillion Naira fraud during her stay in office.
EFCC accused Farouq of abuse of office and diversion of public funds.
In a notice published on its official website, EFCC urged members of the public with information regarding the former Minister’s whereabouts to contact the commission through its designated offices and phone lines.
For an administration that prided itself as being above board in the handling of public funds and which professed truth in its deeds, the latest action by EFCC will come as a PR blow even as Farouq and her alleged accomplices are innocent until proven guilty by a competent court of law in the land.
Recall that another prominent official in the Buhari administration, Abubakar Malami, the then Attorney General and Minister of Justice, is facing serious criminal charges, including alleged money laundering amounting to over N8.7 billion ($6.5 million), terrorism financing, and illegal possession of firearms.
He was arraigned in December 2025 and early 2026, alongside his family members, and has pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The EFCC declaration on Farouq comes weeks after a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja reportedly issued a warrant for her arrest following her failure to appear for arraignment in an alleged fraud case involving $1.3million and N746.6million.
The High Court under Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie had, on 16 April, 2026, ordered her arrest, alongside a former Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Bashir Nura Alkali, after both defendants failed to appear before the court for the commencement of trial.
However, third defendant in the case, Sani Nafiu Mohammed, showed up in court when the case was called.
The anti-graft agency is prosecuting the defendants on a 21-count charge bordering on alleged criminal breach of trust, abuse of office and diversion of public funds during their time in office.
EFCC stated that part of the allegations concerns an aggregate sum of $1.3 million allegedly meant to be refunded to the Ministry by a firm, Visual ICT Limited, after what investigators described as excess payments made under the National Social Safety Net Coordinating Office (NASSCO) programme for the validation of Rapid Response Register beneficiaries.
Part of the charge filed before the court read: “That you Sadiya Umar Farouq, while being Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, and Bashir Nura Alkali while being the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, between 8 May 2021 and 22 September 2022, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, and in such capacity entrusted with certain property to wit, an aggregate sum of $1,300,000.00 (One Million, Three Hundred Thousand Dollars), was meant to be refunded to the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development by Visual ICT Limited, being excess funds paid by the Ministry under National Social Safety Net Coordinating Office (NASSCO) for the validation of Rapid Response Register beneficiaries and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 315 of the Penal Code and punishable under the same Section.”
The case is the latest in a series of investigations involving the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, which has come under intense scrutiny over the management of social intervention funds and emergency response programmes.
As Minister, Farouq oversaw several federal intervention schemes, including the Conditional Cash Transfer (CCT) programme and other social investment initiatives targeted at vulnerable Nigerians.
Her declaration as wanted by the EFCC marks a significant escalation in the legal battle surrounding the alleged fraud case and could pave the way for further enforcement actions if she fails to submit herself to the authorities.
No word has, as yet, come from Farouq over EFCC’s move.
