Justice Maryam Hassan of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Gwarimpa, Abuja, has fixed December 18 to rule on the bail application of a former Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, who is facing allegations of corruption.
Pending the court’s decision, Ngige will remain in custody at the Kuje Correctional Centre.
The ruling date was set on Monday after Justice Hassan heard detailed arguments for and against the bail request of the former Anambra State governor.
Leading the defence, Patrick Ikwueto, SAN, urged the court to grant Ngige bail, citing several reasons, particularly the defendant’s health condition.
He argued that Ngige posed no flight risk and lacked the capacity to leave the country at this time. According to him, the former minister would neither abscond nor interfere with witnesses if admitted to bail.
Opposing the application, counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Sylvanus Tahir, contended that Ngige was indeed a flight risk. He told the court that the defendant had previously been granted administrative bail by the EFCC and permitted to travel abroad for medical treatment, but failed to report back to the agency upon his return.
Tahir further disclosed that Ngige had not returned the passport released to him to facilitate the overseas trip. He argued that it was only after Ngige was re-arrested that he claimed to have lost the passport, a claim the prosecution described as an afterthought and unworthy of belief.
Describing the bail application as frivolous, the EFCC urged the court to dismiss it in its entirety.
After hearing submissions from both parties, Justice Hassan adjourned the matter to December 18 for ruling on the bail application.
Ngige was arraigned last Friday on an eight-count charge bordering on alleged corrupt practices. He pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
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