An FCT High Court has ordered former Labour Minister Chris Ngige to remain at Kuje Correctional Centre pending a ruling on his bail application in an alleged N2.2bn fraud case
Alleged N2.2bn Fraud: Court Remands Ex-Labour Minister Chris Ngige at Kuje, Fixes December 18 for Bail Ruling
Justice Maryam Aliyu Hassan of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), sitting at Gwarimpa, Abuja, has ordered that former Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Nwabueze Ngige, be remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre pending the determination of his bail application.
The court directed that Ngige remain in custody until December 18, when a ruling will be delivered on whether he would be granted bail or not.
Justice Hassan gave the order on Monday shortly after hearing arguments from counsel representing both the defendant and the prosecution.
Ngige’s counsel, Patrick Ikwueto, SAN, urged the court to grant his client bail, citing several grounds, with particular emphasis on the former minister’s health condition.
Ikwueto assured the court that Ngige would not jump bail or interfere with witnesses if admitted to bail.
However, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), represented by Sylvanus Tahir, SAN, opposed the bail application, describing the former Anambra State governor as a flight risk.
Tahir told the court that Ngige had previously been granted administrative bail by the EFCC and was allowed to travel abroad for medical treatment but failed to report back upon his return.
According to the prosecution, the former minister also failed to return his international passport, which had been released to him to facilitate the overseas trip.
“The international passport released to him to travel abroad was never returned till today,” Tahir told the court.
He added that it was only after Ngige was re-arrested that he claimed the passport had been lost.
The EFCC counsel insisted that the claim of a missing passport was an afterthought and urged the court to dismiss the bail application as frivolous and lacking merit.
After listening to submissions from both sides, Justice Hassan adjourned the matter till December 18 for ruling on the bail application.
Ngige was arraigned by the EFCC on Friday on an eight-count charge bordering on alleged ₦2.2 billion contract fraud and acceptance of gifts from contractors linked to the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF).
The alleged offences were said to have occurred while Ngige served as the supervising minister of the agency between September 2015 and May 2023. Read More
