…“The offences the defendant Ngige faces are by no means minor; they are significant crimes, and if convicted, he faces not less than five years in prison.
ABUJA, NIGERIA- The iNews Times| A former Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, was on Friday brought before an Abuja High Court in Gwarinpa by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over an alleged N2.2bn contract fraud.
Justice Maryam Hassan ordered that he be remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre pending the determination of his bail application, scheduled for Monday, December 14.
Ngige entered a not-guilty plea to eight charges involving abuse of office and receiving gifts from contractors linked to the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund during his tenure as supervising minister from September 2015 to May 2023.
Following his plea, EFCC counsel Sylvanus Tahir (SAN) requested the court to set a trial date and to remand the defendant in custody.
He said, “Given the defendant’s not-guilty plea, we respectfully request a trial date. We also ask, My Lord, that the accused be remanded in Kuje prison pending the start of the full trial.”
However, the defence counsel, Patrick Ikwueto (SAN), opposed the EFCC’s request and urged the court to grant his client bail on health grounds, noting that the former minister had already spent three days in EFCC custody before his arraignment.
He stated, “The defendant has taken his plea, and Your Lordship now has full control of the proceedings. As I noted earlier, he has been in EFCC custody for the past three days, during which the charge was served on him. The charge was filed just yesterday and assigned to this court.
“Whether or not he should be granted bail is a constitutional right. The defendant is not an unknown figure in this country. I doubt there is anyone who would claim not to know him. Even the charge acknowledges that he served as a minister.
“I urge Your Lordship to grant him bail. We are willing to comply with any conditions the court may impose. He even mentioned this morning that he needs medical attention. The prosecution is requesting his remand, fully aware that the Kuje facility cannot properly address his health needs.”
He further argued that the allegations did not equate to terrorism or treason charges that would justify denying bail.
“This is not a case of him diverting ministry funds or those of the NSITF. The trial will reveal how the contracts were awarded. This is not a terrorism or treason matter,” Ikwueto said.
He also criticised the EFCC’s application, stating that the defence was not given time to file a response.
“We were not given the opportunity to file our counter-affidavit. If the prosecution allows us time, we will do so.”
The prosecution countered, stressing that the charges were serious and should not be trivialised by the defence.
“The offences the defendant Ngige faces are by no means minor; they are significant crimes, and if convicted, he faces not less than five years in prison. The defence is attempting to trivialise the matter and mislead the court,” the prosecution stated.
The prosecution also informed the court that Ngige failed to return his international passport after being allowed to travel for medical treatment in October.
The court adjourned the case to December 14 and ordered Ngige’s remand in Kuje.
