SADIYA Umar Farouq, former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs and Social Development, is currently in Egypt and medically unfit to appear before court, according to her counsel, Oladipo Okpesheyi.
News Point Nigeria reports that Farouq, alongside Bashir Nura Alkali, a permanent secretary in the ministry, and Sani Mohammed, is standing trial on a 21-count charge bordering on breach of trust and abuse of office filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The anti-graft agency alleged that the former minister and her co-defendants misappropriated about $1.3 million and ₦746.6 million.
The charges were instituted before the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Apo, Abuja.
In April, the court issued an arrest warrant against Farouq and Alkali, while the EFCC recently declared the former minister wanted over allegations of abuse of office and diversion of public funds.
At the resumed hearing on Monday, EFCC counsel, Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) Rotimi Jacobs, told the court that the matter was scheduled for arraignment.
Jacobs noted that the first defendant, Farouq, was absent without any explanation.
“My lord, we were here on April 16, 2026, when your lordship granted us a bench warrant to arrest the first defendant,” Jacobs was quoted as saying in a statement by the EFCC.
“It was because of that; the second defendant immediately approached the Commission and surrendered himself in obedience to your lordship’s order.
“We urge your lordship to remove the bench warrant from the second defendant as we will be applying that the bench warrant for the first defendant be sustained,” he added.
The prosecution counsel further told the court that Okpesheyi had earlier assured that he would produce the former minister within one month.
However, presiding judge, Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie, asked Farouq’s counsel to explain why his client was not present in court.
In response, Okpesheyi said he was informed only the previous night that the former minister was receiving treatment in Egypt and would not be fit to appear for at least two months.
“My lord, she is in Egypt. I learnt that her doctor said she is not medically fit to appear today. There is a medical report I received on my phone last night that she is in the hospital on doctor’s advice in Egypt,” he said.
“She will need about two months to recover before she can come. We will be humbly asking for an adjournment.”
Justice Onwuegbuzie, however, criticised what he described as delay tactics and warned that the court would take further action if the defendant failed to appear at the next hearing.
The judge maintained that the arrest warrant against the first defendant remains active and adjourned the matter until June 8, 2026, for arraignment.