Court Remands Ex-Labour Minister Chris Ngige Over N2.2bn Fraud

• A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the remand of former Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, at the Kuje Correctional Centre after he pleaded not guilty to eight counts of alleged contract fraud involving N2.2 billion.

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja on Friday remanded former Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, at the Kuje Correctional Centre following his arraignment by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over alleged contract fraud amounting to N2.2 billion.

Ngige, a former governor of Anambra State, pleaded not guilty to an eight-count charge bordering on abuse of office and alleged acceptance of gifts from contractors linked to the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund during his tenure as supervising minister between September 2015 and May 2023.

After the plea was taken, the presiding judge, Justice Maryam Hassan, adjourned the hearing of the defendant’s bail application to December 15 and ordered that he be remanded pending further proceedings.

The prosecution counsel, Sylvanus Tahir, SAN, urged the court to fix a trial date and requested that the defendant be remanded in custody until the commencement of full trial, arguing that the charges were serious and carried significant penalties if proven.

In response, defence counsel, Patrick Ikwueto, SAN, opposed the application for remand and appealed to the court to grant his client bail on health grounds. He told the court that Ngige had already spent three days in EFCC custody prior to his arraignment and emphasized that bail was a constitutional right.

Ikwueto argued that the defendant was a well-known public figure who did not pose a flight risk and was prepared to meet any bail conditions set by the court. He added that Ngige required medical attention and that the correctional facility lacked adequate capacity to manage his health concerns.

The defence further maintained that the allegations against Ngige were not comparable to offences such as terrorism or treason that could justify the denial of bail, noting that the trial would determine the circumstances surrounding the award of the contracts in question.

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The prosecution countered these arguments, insisting that the offences were grave and should not be trivialised. The EFCC also raised concerns about Ngige’s international passport, stating that although he was previously allowed to travel on medical grounds, he neither reported back to the commission nor returned the passport upon his return.

Addressing the issue, the defence explained that the passport was stolen during a trip abroad and that Ngige returned to Nigeria using a travel certificate, supported by an affidavit and documents allegedly submitted to the EFCC. The prosecution, however, said such documents were not in its possession.

Justice Hassan questioned how the defendant re-entered the country without a passport and, after listening to arguments from both sides, adjourned the matter to December 15 for the hearing of the bail application. She subsequently ordered that Ngige be remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre pending that date.