Sadiya Farouq wanted by the EFCC over alleged criminal conspiracy, abuse of office and diversion of public funds
Former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, has been declared wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over alleged criminal conspiracy, abuse of office, and diversion of public funds.
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The EFCC announced the development in a wanted notice published on its official website on Saturday, intensifying scrutiny surrounding the former minister’s tenure under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.
According to the notice signed by the EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, the anti-graft agency accused Farouq of involvement in financial misconduct linked to public funds.
The commission identified the 52-year-old former minister as an indigene of Zamfara State and listed her last known address as EN 008, Okpo River, off Agulu Street, Maitama, Abuja.
“The public is hereby notified that Sadiya Umar Farouq, whose photograph appears above, is wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission in an alleged case of Criminal Conspiracy, Abuse of Office, Diversion of Public Funds,” the notice stated.
The EFCC urged members of the public with useful information regarding her whereabouts to contact the commission through any of its offices nationwide or report to the nearest police station.
The agency listed its offices in Ibadan, Uyo, Sokoto, Maiduguri, Benin, Makurdi, Kaduna, Ilorin, Enugu, Kano, Lagos, Gombe, Port Harcourt, and Abuja as contact points in what observers described as a dramatic escalation in the investigation.
Farouq served as Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development between 2019 and 2023 during Buhari’s administration, overseeing several social investment and intervention programmes.
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The latest development adds to growing anti-corruption efforts targeting former public office holders accused of financial misconduct after leaving office.
