A Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Gwarimpa, Abuja, has fixed December 18 to rule on the bail application filed by former Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, who is facing allegations of corruption.
Justice Maryam Hassan adjourned the matter on Monday after hearing arguments from both the defence and the prosecution on whether the former Anambra State governor should be granted bail.
Pending the ruling, Ngige is to remain in custody at the Kuje Correctional Centre.
Ngige’s counsel, Patrick Ikwueto, SAN, urged the court to grant his client bail, citing health concerns as the primary reason.
He argued that the former minister was not a flight risk and lacked the capacity to leave the country at this time.
The defence further assured the court that Ngige would not jump bail or interfere with witnesses if released.
Opposing the application, counsel for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Sylvanus Tahir, told the court that Ngige could not be trusted with bail, insisting that he posed a flight risk.
Tahir said the defendant had previously been granted administrative bail by the EFCC and was permitted to travel abroad for medical treatment but failed to report back to the commission afterward.
He added that Ngige did not return the international passport released to him for the trip and only claimed that it was lost after he was re-arrested.
The EFCC lawyer described the claim as an afterthought and urged the court to dismiss the bail application as lacking merit.
Following the submissions from both parties, Justice Hassan adjourned the case to December 18 for ruling on the bail request.
Ngige, who served as a minister under former President Muhammadu Buhari, was arraigned last Friday on an eight-count charge bordering on alleged corrupt practices. He pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
