A former Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, has been ordered into custody at the Kuje Correctional Centre after the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned him on Friday, December 12, 2025, before an Abuja High Court on allegations of N2.2 billion contract fraud.
Ngige, who served as supervising minister of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) between 2015 and 2023, was docked on an eight-count charge bordering on abuse of office and receiving unlawful gifts from contractors. He pleaded not guilty to all counts.
Presiding judge, Justice Maryam Hassan, ruled that the former minister be remanded in Kuje pending a hearing on his bail application slated for Monday, December 14.
Following Ngige’s plea, EFCC counsel, Sylvanus Tahir (SAN), urged the court to fix a trial date and insisted the defendant be committed to custody.
“In view of the not-guilty plea, we apply for a trial date and pray that the defendant be remanded pending commencement of trial,” Tahir said.
But Ngige’s lead counsel, Patrick Ikwueto (SAN), countered the EFCC’s application, urging the court to admit his client to bail, arguing that the former minister had already spent three days in EFCC detention and had pressing medical needs.
He noted that Ngige was a well-known public figure with no likelihood of absconding.
“The defendant is not an unknown person in this country. Bail is his constitutional right. Even this morning, he told us he needs to go to the hospital,” Ikwueto told the court.
He argued that the charges were not of the type that justify denying bail.
“This is not terrorism or treason. The trial will show how the contracts were awarded. It’s not as though he swallowed the ministry’s funds,” he said.
The defence also protested that it was not given the opportunity to file a counter-affidavit to the prosecution’s request for remand.
Responding, the EFCC maintained that the allegations against Ngige were weighty and should not be dismissed lightly.
“The offences are enormous. If convicted, he faces not less than five years’ imprisonment. The defence is attempting to trivialise serious crimes,” the prosecution said.
The EFCC also informed the court that Ngige had allegedly violated bail terms in a previous administrative arrangement by failing to return his international passport after travelling for medical treatment in October.
After hearing both sides, Justice Hassan adjourned the matter to December 14 for the bail hearing and ordered that Ngige be remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre.
