News
Alleged $1.3m, N746.6m Humanitarian Ministry Fraud: Court Issues Arrest Warrant Against Sadiya, Perm Sec
Alleged $1.3m, N746.6m Humanitarian Ministry Fraud: Court Issues Arrest Warrant Against Sadiya, Perm Sec
Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court Abuja on Thursday, April 16, 2026 issued a warrant of arrest against a former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar Faruoq and a Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Bashir Nura Alkali.
Farouq and Alkali are scheduled to be arraigned on Thursday before the court but failed to appear. Only the third defendant, Sani Nafiu Mohammed was present in court.
The trio are to be arraigned by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC on a twenty-one count charge bordering on breach of trust, abuse of office, fraudulent award of contract and conversion of public funds of about $1,300,000( One Million, Three Hundred Thousand United States Dollars, and N746,574,303( Seven Hundred and Forty Six Million, Five Hundred and Seventy Four Naira, Three Hundred and Three Naira)
Count one of the charge reads: “That you Sadiya Umar Farouq, While being Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, and Bashir Nura Alkali while being the permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, between 8 May 2021 and 22 September 2022, in Abuja, within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court, and in such capacity entrusted with certain property to wit, an aggregate sum of $1,300,000.00(One Million, Three Hundred Thousand Dollars), committed criminal breach of trust in respect of the said property when you fraudulently converted the said sum to your personal benefit and which sum was meant to be refunded to the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development by Visual ICT Limited, being excess funds paid by the Ministry under National Social Safety Net Coordinating Office (NASSCO) for the validation of Rapid Response Register beneficiaries and you thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 315 of the Penal Code and Punishable under the same Section.”
Prosecution counsel, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, informed the court that the charge had been filed since December 15, 2025, but the first and second defendants could not be served.
“We could not arraign them on 15 December, because we could not produce them but their lawyers in court promised that they would produce the defendants but we didn’t see them until your lordship made an order for the state service. The defendants have now been served, my lord, only the third defendant has reported to the Commission when his surety was contacted. The third defendant’s surety is also in court”, he said.
Rotimi further informed the court the first defendant wrote to the Commission that she was going for a medical check-up in Saudi Arabia in 2024 and her passport was released to her for the medical check-up.
“My lord, since that passport was released to her, she has not returned the passport to the Commission . We do not have the medical report in Saudi Arabia till date. Only this morning, my friend served me with an affidavit of fact, the learned senior counsel for the first defendant, wherein the deponent claimed that the first defendant took ill, my lord, all the medical reports which my friend attached to the affidavit of facts were issued after the charge had been filed. No medical report was issued or shown to us for the approved journey and the release of her passport”, he said
Counsel to the first defendant, Abdul Ibrahim, SAN, informed the court that the reason for her absence was ill health. He also prayed the court to accept an affidavit of fact he sought to tender, but the court rejected the application.
Also, Jacobs informed the court that the EFCC wanted to amend an ex-parte motion filed on February 16, 2026, which sought to limit the application to only the first and second defendants. He further prayed the court to order a warrant of arrest against the first and second defendants.
EFCC
“We are praying your lordship to order or issue a warrant of arrest or bench warrant against the first and second defendants. It is also supported by an affidavit by one Celeb Peter on April 15, 2026 showing that the first and second defendants were granted bail but failed to report back and that the charge had been filed and served on them but they have failed to appear before the court today. It is imperative therefore for this honourable court to permit the Commission to arrest the first and second defendants so that they can be compelled to appear before the court”, he said.
The defence counsel, on the other hand, prayed the court to allow him produce the first defendant in court in a period of six weeks
Delivering a ruling on the applications, Justice Onwuegbuzie issued a warrant of arrest against the first and second defendants and adjourned the matter till May 18, 2026 for arraignment and trial.
NAF Activates Immediate Search and Rescue Following Aircraft Accident in Ondo Community
The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) has activated an immediate Search and Rescue operation following an ATR-42 aircraft accident in the Igbokoda area of Ondo State on 5 October 2026.
Eereporter.com
The aircraft was on a routine mission from Benin to Lagos when the accident occurred. Search and Rescue operations, in coordination with relevant authorities and emergency response agencies, are currently ongoing.
The NAF is committed to ensuring the success of the ongoing Search and Rescue efforts. Further details will be communicated in due course.
Helicopters crash
Ehimen Ejodame
Air Commodore
Director of Public Relations and Information
Headquarters, Nigerian Air Force
5 October 2026
Eereporter.com
News
Suspected Terrorists Kills Bus Driver, Abduct 18 Sokoto Health College Students Travelling to Oyo
Suspected Terrorists Kills Bus Driver, Abduct 18 Sokoto Health College Students Travelling to Oyo
Suspected terrorists have abducted about 18 students of Gamji College of Health Technology, Sokoto State, who were travelling to their home towns in Oyo State, SaharaReporters has learnt. The incident reportedly occurred within the past 48 hours along the route to Oyo State, with the driver of the bus allegedly killed at the scene.
Eereporter.com
A youth leader from Oke-Ogun, who confirmed the incident to SaharaReporters during an exclusive interview, said the victims were not students of Usmanu Danfodiyo University (UDUS), as earlier reported.
According to him, the students were travelling in a chartered bus from Gamji College of Health Technology in Sokoto to Oke-Ogun, particularly Igboho in Oyo State.
“Sadly, the unfortunate incident is being confirmed by me because I’m from Oke-Ogun too, and our people have confirmed that it truly happened in the past 48 hours.
“But it wasn’t a bus conveying UDUS students. It was a bus taking students from Gamji College of Health Technology, Sokoto, to Oke-Ogun, Igboho to be precise.
“The driver was killed and all the students were kidnapped. They have reached the Mokwa side,” the youth leader said. Other sources familiar with the incident told SaharaReporters that the number of abducted students could be as many as 18.
The sources said the students were travelling in a chartered bus arranged by their school to convey them to their respective home towns in Oyo State. They were reportedly all taken away by the assailants after the driver was killed.
The reported movement of the abducted students towards the Mokwa axis has raised concerns among residents and relatives of the victims, as the area has previously witnessed attacks and abductions along major roads.
The victims were travelling from Ibadan, Oyo State, to orientation camps in Abia and Akwa Ibom when gunmen reportedly attacked their two buses along the Owerri-Onitsha Road in Umunoha, Imo State, on Thursday.
Isiah Akpan, the Managing Director of Uko Akwa Ibom Motors Nigeria Limited, said the abductors had demanded N50 million for each victim, putting the total ransom at N950 million.
Reacting in a post on X, human rights activist and African Action Congress (AAC) presidential candidate, Omoyele Sowore, said the incident reinforced his longstanding position that the NYSC had “outlived its usefulness in its present form.”
Terrorists Attack
“You cannot force young Nigerians to ‘serve their fatherland’ when the same country cannot guarantee their safety while they travel to their places of service,” he wrote.
Sowore called for the immediate suspension of the scheme and its eventual abolition, proposing that corps members should, in the interim, be allowed to serve within their states of origin.
Eereporter.com
Many Feared Dead as Helicopter Crashes in Ondo Community
Many persons are feared dead after a helicopter crashed in Igbokoda, headquarters of Ilaje Local Government Area of Ondo State.
Eereporter.com
The incident, which occurred on Monday, October 5, 2026, threw the coastal community into panic, with residents scampering for safety.
Details surrounding the crash remained sketchy as of the time of filing this report.
It was yet unclear how many persons were aboard the helicopter, while the condition of possible survivors could not be immediately ascertained.
Sources in the community told SaharaReporters that efforts were underway to access the crash site and determine the extent of casualties and circumstances that led to the crash.
“Yes, it’s true. A helicopter just crashed now at Igbokoda, Ondo state,” a resident told SaharaReporters.
Ondo State Police Command spokesperson Abayomi Jimoh told SaharaReporters he was unaware of the incident but would make inquiries.
Helicopters crash
Igbokoda is a riverine community and commercial hub of Ilaje, one of the oil-rich areas of Ondo State, where helicopters are frequently used for oil and gas logistics operations.
Nigeria has recorded a series of helicopter crashes in recent years, many involving oil workers and military aircraft, raising fresh concerns over aviation safety and regulatory compliance.
Eereporter.com
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