The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Farouq, wanted over alleged abuse of office and diversion of public funds.

According to the anti-graft agency, the former minister is being investigated in connection with alleged financial misconduct linked to the ministry she headed between 2019 and 2023 under the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari.

The EFCC, in a wanted notice published on Saturday, said Farouq, 52, is from Zamfara State and listed her last known address as EN008, Okpo River, off Agulu Street, Maitama, Abuja. The commission urged anyone with useful information regarding her whereabouts to contact its offices nationwide or report to the nearest security agency.

The development follows an arrest warrant earlier issued by a Federal Capital Territory High Court in Apo, Abuja, after the former minister and a former permanent secretary in the ministry, Bashir Nura Alkali, failed to appear in court for arraignment over a 21-count charge filed by the EFCC.

The charges reportedly border on criminal conspiracy, breach of trust, abuse of office, fraudulent award of contracts, and diversion of funds allegedly amounting to about $1.3 million and N746.6 million linked to social intervention programmes. The EFCC is also investigating alleged fraud totalling about N37 billion within the ministry.