A Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court sitting in Gwarimpa, Abuja, on Friday rejected an oral bail application by former Minister of Labour, Dr. Chris Nwabueze Ngige, ordering his continued remand at Kuje Prison until December 15.
His formal bail request, prepared by Senior Advocate of Nigeria Patrick Ikwueto, could not be heard as it was deemed not ripe for consideration.
Ngige, a former governor of Anambra State, was arraigned on Friday by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on an eight-count charge of corrupt practices.
He pleaded not guilty to the charges. His lawyer, Patrick Ikwueto, SAN, attempted to argue the written bail application, but EFCC counsel Sylvanus Tahir, SAN, opposed the motion, stating that he had just been served and required time to respond formally.
An attempt to move the oral application was overruled by Justice Maryam Aliyu Hassan, who instead ordered that the formal application be argued on Monday, December 15, and directed that Ngige remain in Kuje Prison pending the hearing.
The eight-count charge, filed under FCT/HC/CR/726/2025, lists Ngige as the sole defendant.
According to the charge filed on December 9, Ngige allegedly committed the offences while serving as Minister of Labour under the late President Muhammadu Buhari.
In the first five counts, Ngige was accused of using his position to confer unfair advantages on various companies, including Cezimo Nigeria Limited, Zitacom Nigeria Limited, Jeff & Xris Limited, Olde English Consolidated Limited, and Shale Atlantic Intercontinental Services Limited, through the award of multiple NSITF contracts valued at hundreds of millions of naira.
The offences were said to contravene Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
Counts six to eight allege that Ngige corruptly accepted gifts totaling N119,783,000 through organisations linked to him, including the Senator (Dr.) Chris Ngige Campaign Organisation and the Chris Ngige Scholarship Scheme, from contractors with the NSITF while performing official duties.
These counts are cited as violations of Section 17(a) and punishable under Section 17(c) of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.