A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) high court in Apo has dismissed an application by Sadiya Umar-Farouq, former minister of humanitarian affairs, seeking to set aside a bench warrant issued for her arrest.
In a ruling delivered on Monday, Jude Onwuegbuzie, the presiding judge, held that the former minister failed to appear before the court without a valid reason.
Umar-Farouq is facing prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) alongside Bashir Nura Alkali and Sani Nafiu Mohammed over allegations of criminal conspiracy, abuse of office and diversion of public funds amounting to $1.3 million and N746.7 million.
“The defendant, who is fully aware that this is a criminal proceeding, has willfully failed to appear in court without a valid reason, and the law empowers the court, when it has been ascertained that the defendant is absent from court without a valid reason, to issue a bench
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