261
By Lizzy Chirkpi
A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court has fixed December 18, 2025 to rule on the bail application of former Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, who is facing trial over alleged corruption involving more than ₦2.2 billion.
Justice Maryam Hassan adjourned the ruling on Monday after hearing arguments from both the prosecution and defence in an eight-count charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Pending the court’s decision, Ngige will remain in custody at the Kuje Correctional Centre.
The former Anambra State governor, who served as minister between November 11, 2015, and May 29, 2023, pleaded not guilty to the charges, which include abuse of office and alleged receipt of kickbacks linked to contracts awarded by the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF).
According to the EFCC, Ngige allegedly used his position to confer undue advantage on companies connected to his associates.
Opposing the bail application, EFCC counsel Sylvanus Tahir, SAN, told the court that Ngige was a flight risk, arguing that he had breached the conditions of an earlier administrative bail.
He said the former minister was permitted to travel abroad for medical treatment but failed to report back to the anti-graft agency afterward.
Tahir added that Ngige had also not returned the international passport released to him for the trip, claiming that the assertion that the passport was lost only surfaced after his re-arrest.
Describing the bail request as “frivolous,” Tahir urged the court to dismiss it, stressing that the alleged offences carry a possible minimum jail term of five years if proven.
In response, Ngige’s counsel, Patrick Ikwueto, SAN, appealed to the court to grant bail on health grounds, insisting that his client posed no risk of absconding or interfering with witnesses.
“The trial will examine how the contracts were awarded,” Ikwueto told the court. “These are not charges of terrorism or treason. He is a known public figure, and the court can set any condition for bail.”
He further noted that Ngige had already spent three days in EFCC custody before his arraignment and maintained that the offences were bailable.
Justice Hassan adjourned proceedings after listening to both sides and fixed December 18 for the delivery of a ruling on the bail application.
Ngige was formally arraigned last Friday and remanded in custody after pleading not guilty to all eight counts.