The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday, December 15, 2025, opposed the bail application of a former Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr Chris Ngige, following his arraignment before Justice M.A. Hassan of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, Gwarimpa, Abuja.
Ngige was arraigned on an eight-count charge bordering on alleged contract fraud and acceptance of gifts amounting to N2,261,722,535.84 (Two Billion, Two Hundred and Sixty-One Million, Seven Hundred and Twenty-Two Thousand, Five Hundred and Thirty-Five Naira, Eighty-Four Kobo).
Opposing the bail request, prosecution counsel, Sylvanus Tahir, SAN, urged the court to exercise caution, arguing that the former minister had violated the terms of an administrative bail earlier granted by the EFCC. He told the court that Ngige failed to return his international passport after being permitted to travel abroad on medical grounds.
“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?” Tahir asked.
He further questioned the propriety of securing an affidavit of loss in Nigeria for a passport allegedly lost abroad. “The logical thing to do was to depose an affidavit of loss in the country. What does the Nigerian police know about a loss of a passport in the UK?” he said.
Tahir submitted that the defendant was in “gross breach of the administrative bail granted by the EFCC,” adding that Ngige was now asking the court to grant bail “in terms and conditions granted by the EFCC.”
“Let us not shoot ourselves in the leg. The defendant violates Section 162 of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act, 2015. He undermines and jeopardises the provision of ACJA. The totality of this case calls for extreme caution; we submit that the court should refuse the application and order for accelerated trial,” the prosecution counsel argued.
In response, defence counsel, Patrick Ikweato, SAN, urged the court to admit the former minister to bail. “I am asking my Lord to admit the defendant to bail; the appeals are there stated in the application. We rely on all the processes as well as the written application,” he said.
After hearing arguments from both sides, Justice Hassan adjourned the matter to Thursday, December 18, 2025, for ruling on the bail application.
