The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is expected to file charges today against former Minister of Labour and Productivity and ex-Anambra State Governor, Chris Ngige.
Ngige was taken into custody on Wednesday after EFCC operatives, numbering about 20 and deployed from the agency’s Wuse II Zonal Command, arrived at his Abuja home in what a family source described as a “commando style raid.”
According to the family account, he was not given the chance to change outfits and was moved away from the residence still dressed in his “pyjamas.”
Before this latest development, the former governor had been on “an administrative bail” and had previously honoured EFCC invitations, responding to inquiries over issues that have not been publicly disclosed. He was also instructed to submit his travel documents.
However, Ngige travelled out of the country for medical reasons. While passing through the United Kingdom en route to the United States, he reportedly misplaced his passport. This forced him to cancel the trip and return home. Officials at the Nigerian High Commission in the UK issued him new travel papers, allowing him to make his way back to Abuja.
After his return, Ngige reportedly drafted a letter to notify the EFCC officially about the missing passport and explain that he no longer had the travel document he had been asked to surrender. But before he could deliver the letter, EFCC personnel arrived at his residence on Justice Mohammed Bello Road, Asokoro, and took him away.
Sources indicate that Ngige was shocked by the arrest, insisting he had not breached any of the conditions attached to his administrative bail and had been cooperating with investigators.
He is expected to be taken before a court, where his legal team will argue for his release and attempt to secure bail as the proceedings unfold.
What You Should Know
Chris Ngige, a former governor and two-time minister under the Buhari administration, is currently entangled in an EFCC investigation whose details remain undisclosed.
His arrest, carried out without prior notice and while he was still in his home attire, has raised questions about the urgency behind the operation, especially since he had reportedly been cooperating with the agency.
The central issue involves his administrative bail and his attempt to notify the EFCC about the loss of his passport—a development that appears to have coincided with his sudden detention. The case now shifts to the court, where the next steps regarding his freedom will be determined.
