The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) is set to charge Chris Ngige, a former governor of Anambra State, to court, Mr Ngige’s media aide, Fred Chukwuelobe, said on Thursday afternoon.
PREMIUM TIMES earlier reported that Mr Ngige, who served as Nigeria’s minister of Labour and Employment from 2015 to 2023, was arrested by EFCC operatives on Wednesday at his residence on Justice Mohammed Bello Road in Abuja.
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May be charged today
In a Facebook post on Thursday, Mr Chukwulobe said the EFCC would charge the former minister to court “possibly today”.
The media aide did not, however, mention the EFCC’s allegation against the former minister.
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Arrested while in pyjamas
Mr Chukwulobe said Mr Ngige was “whisked away from his residence by about 20 EFCC officers” from the agency’s zonal office, Wuse II, in Abuja.
He said the EFCC operatives arrested the former minister when they raided his apartment in a “commando style.”
“He (Ngige) was not allowed to change his clothes and was taken away still wearing his pyjamas,” he quoted an unnamed family member as saying.
Mr Chukwulobe acknowledged that there was a pending case involving Mr Ngige and that the former minister had been on “an administrative bail” from the EFCC.
The media aide said Mr Ngige was granted administrative bail after he was invited by the agency and questioned for “some undisclosed reasons.”
“Ngige had, before yesterday’s arrest, been in contact with the agency and was cooperating with it,” he said.
He narrated that the EFCC authorities had asked Mr Ngige to return his travel documents to them, apparently due to the ongoing case.
Mr Chukwulobe stressed that the former minister embarked on a medical trip to the US, but lost his passport on arriving at the UK which forced him to abort the trip and return to Nigeria.
He stated that the former Anambra governor subsequently obtained his travel documents from the Nigerian High Commission in the UK, which enabled him to travel back to Abuja, Nigeria’s capital.
The aide explained that the former minister, upon arrival in Nigeria, drafted a letter which he intended to forward to the EFCC informing it of the loss of his travel documents and that he had no passport to return to the agency.
“He was yet to submit the letter when officers of the agency stormed his residence on Justice Mohammed Bello Road, Asokoro, Abuja, and whisked him away,” he said.
He added that Mr Ngige was surprised at his arrest when he had not violated the terms of his administrative bail and had cooperated with the agency.
“It was gathered that he (Ngige) will be charged to court which will now hear arguments from his lawyers and possibly grant him bail,” he stated.
EFCC speaks
When contacted on Thursday afternoon, the EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, confirmed to PREMIUM TIMES that Mr Ngige is in the custody of the anti-graft agency.
Mr Oyewale, however, declined to speak further, promising to speak “later” on the matter.
Meanwhile, PREMIUM TIMES gathered that Mr Ngige was arrested in connection with some alleged fraudulent transactions running into billions of naira, which were conducted in a parastatal under the Ministry of Labour and Employment when he served as minister.
READ ALSO: EFCC detains ex-Anambra governor Chris Ngige – Aide
Not the first time
This is not the first time Mr Ngige has been investigated over alleged involvement in fraudulent deals.
In 2024, for instance, the politician was grilled by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission over contract irregularities and job racketeering at the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) during his time as labour minister.
The NSITF is a parastatal under the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
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