Fresh details have emerged in the ongoing legal battle involving former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, as her counsel, Oladipo Okpeseyi, informed the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja that the former minister is currently in Egypt receiving medical treatment and is medically unfit to appear before the court.
The disclosure was made on Monday during proceedings before Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie at the FCT High Court in Apo, Abuja, where the court maintained an earlier arrest warrant issued against the former minister over allegations brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Farouq is facing trial alongside Bashir Nura Alkali and Sani Nafiu Mohammed over allegations bordering on criminal conspiracy, abuse of office, and the alleged diversion of public funds amounting to about $1.3 million and N746.7 million.
During the hearing, EFCC prosecuting counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, reminded the court that the former minister had earlier failed to appear for arraignment, prompting the issuance of a bench warrant on April 16, 2026. He urged the court to sustain the warrant, arguing that the defence had previously undertaken to produce the defendant in court.
Responding, defence counsel Oladipo Okpeseyi told the court that his client was presently hospitalized in Egypt based on her doctor’s advice and would require approximately two months to recover before she could return to Nigeria for trial.
According to him, a medical report sent to him indicated that the former minister was medically unfit to attend the proceedings.
“My lord, she is in Egypt. I learnt that her doctor said she is not medically fit to appear today,” Okpeseyi told the court.
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However, Justice Onwuegbuzie rejected the request for a lengthy adjournment and expressed dissatisfaction with the continued absence of the former minister. The judge subsequently maintained the arrest warrant and warned against unnecessary delays in the matter.
The court thereafter adjourned the case to June 8, 2026, for arraignment.
The EFCC had earlier declared Farouq wanted in connection with alleged financial misconduct linked to activities during her tenure under former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration between 2019 and 2023. The anti-graft agency is also investigating alleged fraud involving about N37 billion connected to the ministry during that period.
