The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission has opposed the bail application filed by a former Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, following his arraignment before Justice M.A. Hassan of the Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Gwarimpa, Abuja.
Ngige is standing trial over alleged contract fraud and the acceptance of gifts amounting to N2,261,722,535.84.
The charges were brought by the EFCC, which urged the court to treat the bail request with caution, citing the defendant’s conduct while on administrative bail.
Leading the prosecution, Sylvanus Tahir, SAN, told the court that Ngige failed to comply with conditions attached to the administrative bail earlier granted to him by the Commission. According to the prosecution, the former minister was allowed to travel abroad on medical grounds on the condition that he would return his international passport upon his return to Nigeria.
Tahir told the court that the defendant did not honour that undertaking until he was eventually arrested by the EFCC.
“He made an undertaking that he will return the passport on November 19, 2025. The defendant could not obtain an affidavit of loss in the UK but rather chose to come back to Nigeria to obtain an affidavit. What stopped him from obtaining a relevant police report from London?”they said.
The prosecution argued that the explanation given by the defendant for the alleged loss of his passport lacked credibility, stating that proper documentation should have been obtained in the country where the loss reportedly occurred rather than in Nigeria.
The EFCC maintained that Ngige’s actions amounted to a breach of the administrative bail earlier granted to him and warned the court against extending similar terms through judicial bail.