Alleged N2. 2bn Fraud: Ngige Knows Fate on Bail December 18

* Remains in Kuje custodial centre

Alex Enumah in Abuja

Justice Maryam Hassan of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), sitting at Gwarimpa, Abuja, on Monday, fixed December 18 for ruling in the bail application brought by former Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, arraigned on alleged fraud charges.

Meanwhile, the court held that the ex-minister would continue to be in the custody of the Kuje Correctional Centre, where he was last week remanded shortly after his arraignment.

The court made the order shortly after taking arguments for and against the bail application.

At Monday’s proceedings, Ngige’s lawyer, Patrick Ikwueto (SAN), pleaded with the court to admit the former minister to bail on various reasons but mainly on health ground.

He submitted that the former minister would not jump bail or interfere with witnesses if admitted to bail.

But the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), represented by Sylvanus Tahir (SAN), vehemently opposed the bail request insisting that Ngige was a flight risk.

He told the judge that the defendant was granted administrative bail by EFCC and allowed to travel abroad for medical care but never reported back to EFCC.

Besides, he said that the international passport released to him to facilitate the abroad trip was never returned till today.

The senior lawyer argued that it was when Ngige was re-arrested that he came up with a purported claims that he lost his passport.

Insisting that the claims of passport loss was an afterthought and should not be believed by the court, Tahir urged the court to dismiss the bail request for being frivolous.

After the submissions, Justice Hassan fixed December 18 to deliver ruling in the bail request.

Ngige was last Friday slammed with an eight-count charge of corrupt practices.

Nigige, who was arraigned last Friday on alleged corruption charges, would remain in Kuje Correctional Centre till Monday, when his bail application would be heard.

Ngige was specifically charged with conferring unfair advantage on his associates, in the award of several contracts when he held office as minister, between 2015 and 2023.

He was also accused of corruptly accepting gifts of several millions of naira through his organizations, while he was in office.

He however pleaded not guilty to all the eight-count charge brought against him by the EFCC.

In the charge marked: FCT/HC/CR/726/2025, the former minister in count one was alleged to have used his position as Minister of Labour and Employment and the Supervising Minister of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), “to confer an unfair advantage upon Cezimo Nigeria Limited, a company whose MD/CEO and alter ego, Ezebinwa Amarachukwu Charles, is your associate, by the award of seven different contracts for consultancy, training and supply by the NSITF to the said company to the tune of N366,470,920.68”.

In count two, the former minister was alleged to have used his position to confer an unfair advantage “upon Zitacom Nigeria Limited, a company whose MD/CEO and alter ego, Ezebinwa Amarachukwu Charles, is your associate, by the award of eight different contracts for supply, training and consultancy, with the NSITF, to the said company to the tune of N583,682,686.00”.

In count six, the anti-graft agency alleged that Ngige had sometime between May 2022 and June 2022 in Abuja, “did corruptly accept a gift, to wit: the sum of N38,650,000 only through your organization called Senator (Dr) Chris Nwabueze Ngige Campaign Organization from Cezimo Nigeria Limited (Zenith Bank Account Number 1011901119), a contractor with the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), while performing your official act as Honourable Minister of Labour and Employment and you thereby committed an offence contrary to section 17(a) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000 and punishable under Section 179(c) of the same Act”.