Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, sitting in Apo, Abuja, on Monday, June 15, 2026, dismissed an application filed by counsel to a former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Sadiya Umar Farouq, seeking to set aside the bench warrant and warrant of arrest issued against her.

Farouq, alongside two others — Bashir Nura Alkali and Sani Nafiu Mohammed — is to face prosecution by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over alleged criminal conspiracy, abuse of office, and diversion of public funds amounting to $1.3 million and N746.7 million.

Delivering his ruling on Monday, the judge held that the defendant had willfully failed to appear in court without a valid reason, maintaining that the law empowers the court to issue a bench warrant once it is established that a defendant is absent without justification.

“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 without a valid reason, to issue a bench warrant of arrest. There is nothing in the exhibit explaining why the defendant, who has mere arthritis and heart disease, cannot appear before the court. Is it that there are no medical facilities in Nigeria? I am convinced that the 1st defendant is trying to hide behind her fingers by raising bogus excuses. It is important that the applicant be reminded that this is a criminal matter and not a civil one, and there is an approach to its proceedings. By all legal considerations, I am of the opinion that there is no merit in this application. I so hold,” he said.

Reacting to the ruling, counsel to the prosecution, Rotimi Jacobs, SAN, commended the judge for what he described as a well-considered ruling. He further reminded the court of the undertaking by defence counsel, A.A. Ibrahim, SAN, to produce the first defendant, urging the court to enforce the undertaking.

“My Lord, for a senior counsel to make an undertaking which is reflected in Your Lordship’s ruling, we crave that Your Lordship give effect to that undertaking by A.A. Ibrahim, SAN, to produce the defendant. If you look at the so-called medical report attached, it only requested a period of six to eight weeks, within which the defendant would not be arrested, and the eight weeks expired on June 9, 2026. I plead with Your Lordship that the court should not take the undertaking for granted. On our part, we have decided to give effect to the arrest of the first defendant, and we also ask counsel to the first defendant to cooperate and produce his client at the next adjournment to avoid coercive measures,” he said.

Responding, A.M. Lawal, who stood in for A.A. Ibrahim, SAN, urged the judge to allow Ibrahim to be present in court to respond to the EFCC’s application regarding the undertaking.

Justice Onwuegbuzie granted the request, stating that Ibrahim should be allowed to appear in court to defend himself on the issue of the undertaking.

The matter was adjourned to July 2, 2026, for arraignment.

Ahead of the 2027 general elections, the Executive Chairman of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Mr. Ola Olukoyede, has called on Nigerians from all walks of life to work collaboratively toward ensuring peaceful, credible, and transparent elections, warning that vote buying and other forms of financial inducement remain major threats to democratic governance.

Olukoyede made the call in Ilorin, Kwara State, on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, while delivering the inaugural lecture of the High-Level Guest Speakers’ Series organised by the Centre for Peace and Strategic Studies (CPSS), University of Ilorin. The lecture was themed: “Mobilising Critical Stakeholders for Setting the Agenda for Peaceful and Credible 2027 Elections in Nigeria.”

The EFCC Chairman stressed that the Commission remained firmly committed to combating the monetisation of the electoral process, describing vote buying, vote selling, and other forms of financial influence as practices that undermine democracy and good governance.

He pointed out that political leaders who secure office through financial inducement are more likely to focus on recovering their investments rather than serving the public interest.

“The EFCC is opposed to the commercialisation of votes not only because it is a financial crime, but also because it weakens the foundation of good governance by compromising the political recruitment process. Leaders who pay their way into public office are unlikely to prioritise the public good and accountability. Rather, recouping their investments becomes the overarching objective, to the detriment of the common good,” he said.

He disclosed that the EFCC had recorded several arrests, prosecutions, and convictions of electoral offenders in recent years, including politicians, electoral officials, and citizens involved in vote-buying schemes. He assured Nigerians that the Commission would intensify efforts ahead of the 2027 general elections, stressing that vote buying remains a financial crime that would be prosecuted without fear or favour.

On electoral corruption, the EFCC boss stated that it had become increasingly sophisticated, with perpetrators now deploying covert methods, coded communications, and off-site arrangements to influence voters.

“Vote buying manifests not just through financial inducement of voters but also through material and commodity offers. Investigations indicate that some of these criminal activities are no longer being carried out in the open. They are not even being done on election days. Codes are being used covertly. Linkages are being established with voters outside the electoral framework, all in a bid to influence them to follow fraudulent routes. We are aware of all these antics and are prepared to safeguard the integrity of our elections,” he said.

The anti-graft czar identified stronger collaboration among stakeholders, enforcement of electoral laws, issue-based campaigns, media responsibility, impartial security operations, and effective conflict-resolution mechanisms as critical ingredients for credible elections.

He urged political parties to build consensus around decency in campaigns and collectively reject vote buying, noting that inflammatory rhetoric and divisive politics had contributed to electoral violence in previous election cycles.

Olukoyede also challenged the media to play a more proactive role in exposing electoral corruption, particularly vote-buying networks, while urging security agencies to maintain professionalism and neutrality throughout the electoral process. He maintained that proactive and coordinated security arrangements would significantly reduce electoral risks and enhance public confidence in the democratic process.

Earlier, the Director of CPSS, G. A. Animasawun, said the lecture series was conceived to provide a strategic platform for stakeholders to identify and address threats to Nigeria’s democratic process ahead of the 2027 elections. He noted that the Centre was determined to move beyond academic discourse by fostering practical solutions capable of strengthening electoral integrity, peace, and national security.

In his welcome address, the Vice-Chancellor of the University, Wahab Olasupo Egbewole, SAN, described electoral corruption as a major national security threat and called for stronger institutional collaboration to prevent electoral malpractice.

He commended the EFCC under Olukoyede’s leadership for adopting a preventive approach to electoral corruption and proposed a strategic partnership between the Commission and the CPSS to deepen research, training, and policy development on the nexus between electoral corruption and national security.

The event drew participants from the electoral management body, security agencies, civil society organisations, academia, the media, and other key stakeholders committed to strengthening Nigeria’s democratic institutions ahead of the 2027 general elections.

The Fifth Prosecution Witness (PW5) in the trial of former Minister of Power, Olu Agunloye, on Wednesday, June 10, 2026, clarified issues surrounding the certification of the extract of the minutes of the Federal Executive Council (FEC) meeting of May 21, 2003, before Justice Jude Onwuegbuzie of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Apo, Abuja, following a formal request by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for certified extracts of the meeting.

The former minister is facing prosecution on an amended seven-count charge bordering on alleged official corruption and the fraudulent award of the Mambilla Power Project contract worth $6 billion to Sunrise Power Transmission Company Limited.

The witness, Iliya John Iyakwari, an Assistant Director of Legal in the Federal Ministry of Justice, currently serving in the Federal Ministry of Power as an Assistant Legal Adviser since August 2014, stated during cross-examination by defence counsel, Adeola Adedipe, SAN, that the request for a certified copy of the extract of the FEC meeting of May 21, 2003, was received from the EFCC in July 2023.

He explained that the certification was eventually done in 2024 because, upon receipt of the request letter from the User Department, the Legal Department forwarded a memo to the EFCC dated July 27, 2023, but the initial copy sent to the Commission was not certified, prompting the EFCC to return it.

“It was after it was received by the EFCC in July 2023 that they realised the extract was not certified. So, in January 2024, a staff of the EFCC brought back Exhibit Three K to my Legal Adviser, and the name of the EFCC staff is Babangida.

“He brought it personally and reminded my director that it was not certified. My director then gave me the document to certify. That is why my lord will see on the face of the document that the date it was certified, January 26, 2024, is different from the date it was forwarded. It was in the process of certification that I mistakenly stamped the original forwarding letter dated June 27, 2023. After stamping the document, I gave it back to my director, who I believe handed it over to Babangida because I left them afterwards,” he said.

When asked whether his earlier testimony suggesting certification in June 2023 was contradictory, prosecution counsel, Abba Mohammed, SAN, defended the witness’ position, insisting that the testimony was not contradictory and that court records spoke for themselves.

“My lord, I object to this particular question anchored on Exhibit PW5A, which was just tendered in court. What I see in our record, and what I believe is reflected in the records of the court, is that in his explanation, he summarised that all these activities were done in June 2023; he never said the certification was done in 2023.

“This objection is founded on Section 36 of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which is superior to the Evidence Act. We will rely on the record of the court, particularly line 16,” he said.

The witness was also asked whether the document tendered in court by Babangida during his testimony was a different extract of the FEC meeting from the one he certified.

The prosecution counsel again objected, arguing that the witness, in line with court procedure, was absent from the courtroom during Babangida’s testimony and therefore could not be cross-examined on a document that was not tendered through him. He cited the case of Buhari v. INEC & Others (2008).

Justice Onwuegbuzie adjourned the matter until June 18 and July 2, 2026, for the continuation of trial.