A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, sitting in Gwarinpa, on Friday ordered the remand of the former Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, in Kuje Prison. Justice Maryam Hassan issued the remand order after the former minister pleaded not guilty to an eight-count charge brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The court directed that Ngige remain in custody until Monday, when his bail application will be heard. Ngige, who served as Minister of Labour from November 11, 2015, to May 29, 2023, is facing trial for his alleged involvement in contract fraud amounting to more than N2.2 billion. The charges against him include abuse of office and allegations that he received kickbacks from companies that were awarded contracts by the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF). Justice Hassan maintained that he must remain in custody until the court considers his request for bail.
Ngige, who previously served as Governor of Anambra State from May 2003 to March 2006 under the Peoples Democratic Party, later returned to public office during the administration of former President Muhammadu Buhari, where he held the labour portfolio for eight years.
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According to the EFCC, Ngige allegedly awarded several multi-million-naira contracts for consultancy, training, and supply services at the NSITF to companies linked to his associates. The anti-graft agency maintains that the former minister used his position to grant preferential treatment and improperly approved contracts worth hundreds of millions of naira to firms connected to individuals close to him. It further alleges that Ngige collected financial gratifications from some of these contractors through his political organisation, the Dr Chris Nwabueze Ngige Campaign Organisation. The EFCC claims that various sums running into tens of millions of naira were funneled to him under the guise of political support.
The commission argues that these actions violate sections of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000, and constitute criminal conduct punishable under federal law.
Following Ngige’s not-guilty plea, EFCC counsel Sylvanus Tahir, SAN, asked the court for a trial date and urged the judge to order Ngige’s remand in Kuje Custodial Centre pending the commencement of trial. Defence counsel Patrick Ikwueto, SAN, told the court that the defence team had only been informed of the arraignment the previous day and had not yet filed a formal bail application. He appealed for conditional bail on health grounds and attempted to make an oral bail application based on self-recognition.
Tahir objected, insisting that the court could not entertain a mixture of oral and written applications and further noting that Ngige had not submitted his passport, which had been a condition of his earlier administrative bail. Ikwueto responded that the passport had been stolen and that a formal letter communicating this had been sent to the EFCC, a claim Tahir said he was not aware of.
After listening to both sides, Justice Hassan ordered Ngige’s remand at Kuje Correctional Centre and adjourned the matter until Monday for the hearing of the bail application.