Alleged Corruption: Court To Rule On Ngige’s Bail Application On December 18

Justice Maryam Hassan of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Gwarimpa, Abuja, will on December 18, rule on the bail application of a former minister of labour and employment, Chris Ngige.

Ngige will be on remand at the Kuje Correctional Center till the date when his bail application is decided

Justice Hassan issued the order on Monday shortly after taking arguments for and against the bail request of the former governor of Anambra State.

Counsel for the former minister, Patrick Ikwueto SAN, pleaded with the judge to admit the former minister to bail on various reasons, but mainly on health grounds.

He added that Ngige was not a flight risk and did not have the capacity to leave the country at this time.

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

However, the counsel for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Sylvanus Tahir, opposed the bail request, insisting that Ngige was a flight risk.

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

Besides, he said that the passport released to him to facilitate the trip abroad had not been returned.

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 were an afterthought and should not be believed by the Court, Tahir urged the court to dismiss the bail request as frivolous.

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

The former minister was arraigned last Friday on an eight-count charge of alleged corrupt practices.

He pleaded not guilty to all the charges.