The former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development, Sadiya Umar-Farouq, failed to appear for questioning at the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission headquarters in Abuja, where she was summoned in connection to an alleged N37.1 billion fraud.
The former minister’s absence kept interrogators waiting for over eight hours without any official communication to the commission explaining her non-appearance.
The scheduled interview was part of an ongoing investigation into money laundering activities during her tenure, involving a contractor named James Okwete.
Despite the commission’s invitation for Umar-Farouq to report for an interview on Wednesday at 10:00 am, our correspondent confirmed that she did not show up at the EFCC office.
An anonymous source from the interrogation team mentioned, “We just closed from work now because she didn’t show up today, and it’s 6 pm already. It’s certain that she’s never going to show up today.”
Journalists were on-site at the EFCC headquarters, anticipating the former minister’s arrival.
The EFCC had exclusively invited Umar-Farouk to provide insight into the alleged fraud, which was disclosed in a document seen by our correspondent.
Responding to the situation, Umar-Farouq had earlier denied any knowledge of James Okwete, the contractor involved in the investigation.
In a tweet on Monday, she stated, “James Okwete neither worked for, nor represented me in any way whatsoever.”
She expressed her intention to explore legal options to address what she referred to as a “malicious attack” on her person.
The spokesperson for the EFCC, Dele Oyewale, declined to comment on the matter.
The ongoing investigation into the N37.1 billion fraud also involves the arrest of James Okwete, who, according to an EFCC official, provided useful statements regarding Umar-Farouk and former director-generals of the Ministry of Humanitarian Affairs.
In a broader context, the EFCC is reportedly probing three other former ministers who served under former President Muhammadu Buhari for graft, estimated at N150 billion.
The ex-minister, Sadiya Umar-Farouq, was appointed as the pioneer Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management, and Social Development by former President Buhari in July 2019.
