Nigeria, April 16 -- The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja on Thursday ordered the arrest of a former Minister of Humanitarian Affairs, Disaster Management and Social Development, Sadiya Umar-Farouq, to answer charges of fraudulently diverting social security intervention funds during her tenure in office.

A statement from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) said the court also ordered the arrest of the permanent secretary of her then-ministry, Bashir Nura Alkali.

According to the statement, the two of them failed to appear for arraignment on fraud charges before the court on Thursday, prompting the trial judge, Jude Onwuegbuzie, to issue a warrant for their arrest.

The statement said only their co-def...