By Ikechukwu Nnochiri
ABUJA– A High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) sitting at Gwarinpa, on Wednesday, commenced full-blown hearing on the eight-count corruption charge the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) preferred against a former Minister of Labour and Employment, Dr. Chris Ngige.
The EFCC opened its case by presenting its first witness, whose petition led to the exposure of alleged contract fraud in the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), an agency that was under Ngige’s ministerial supervision.
Ngige, who was in office as a minister from November 11, 2015, to May 29, 2023, was arraigned on December 12, 2025, before the court on allegations of abuse of office, acceptance of gifts, and contract irregularities at the NSITF to the tune of over N2.2 billion.
The charge included an allegation that he collected kickbacks from firms that were awarded contracts by the NSITF.
It was alleged that the former minister used his position to confer unfair advantage to his associates by awarding contracts to their companies.
The defendant, by his action, was said to have committed offences punishable under various sections of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
At the resumed proceedings on Wednesday, the prosecution witness, Mr. Pedro Chele, narrated in the court how he wrote petitions both to the EFCC and the Bureau of Public Procurement (BPP) after uncovering that the NSITF board had sidelined due process in its contract award process.
Even though the defence lawyer, Mr. Patrick Ikwueto, SAN, queried the admissibility of the petitions, trial Justice Maryam Hassan admitted them in evidence and marked them as Exhibit P1.
Ngige’s lawyer, Ikwueto, SAN, said he would in his final written address, give reasons why he opposed the admission of the documents as part of the proof of evidence in the case.
Meanwhile, led in evidence by EFCC’s counsel, Sylvanus Tahir, SAN, the witness who identified himself as an entrepreneur and project manager with Imanihad Nigeria Limited, told the court that sometime in 2017, his company responded to an advertisement in The Guardian newspaper for the renovation of the NSITF office in Makurdi, Benue State.
According to him, his company was pre-qualified and submitted its financial bid for the project but did not receive any feedback for an unusually long time.
“After the conclusion of the submissions, it took longer than expected. So I wrote to the management of the NSITF concerning the contract,” Chele added.
He told the court that though his letter was received by the NSITF, it however failed to give any satisfactory explanation for the delayed feedback—a situation that led him to escalate the matter to the BPP.
Following his letter, the witness told the court that the BPP wrote to the NSITF demanding details of the contract, a request he said was declined.
The witness said he eventually found out that the said contract was awarded to Altitude Global Links Limited, a company he said insisted did not participate in the bidding process.
“Later, I found out that the company that the contract was awarded to was not part of the process,” he told the court.
Upon the discovery, Chele said his lawyers had petitioned the EFCC, leading to an investigation in 2023.
Answering questions under cross-examination, the PW-1 admitted that his petition was against the management of the NSITF and not individual members of the board.
He further confirmed before the court that the original contract for the renovation of the Makurdi office of the NSITF, which he tendered a N85million bid for, was later altered to a contract for completion of the building, with the cost increased to N120m.
The witness told the court that he never received a letter of award for the Makurdi project nor executed any agreement with the NSITF in respect of it.
He also admitted that after writing to the BPP, he was invited by NSITF officials who appealed to him to drop the matter with a promise that his company would be considered for other contracts.
According to the witness, his company was subsequently awarded two contracts of N10m each, though one was later withdrawn.
He told the court that he did not bid for those contracts, adding that he did not take part in any NSITF board meeting.
Chele said he later learned through media reports that the NSITF management board was reconstituted after his petition.
Asked to confirm to the court if the contracts that were awarded to his company followed due process, the witness said he did not know since he was not a staff member of the NSITF.
Justice Hassan fixed Thursday for further cross-examination of the witness.
It will be recalled that the former Minister was on December 18, 2025, released from Kuje prison where he spent six days after his arraignment.
As part of his bail conditions, the defendant was ordered to produce a surety who must be a civil servant not below the rank of a Director.
The court held that the surety must be an owner of a landed property in the FCT with title documents that must be submitted.
It further restrained the defendant from travelling outside the country without permission.
EFCC had in the charge before the court marked: CR/726/2025, alleged that the former minister used his position to confer an unfair advantage on a firm- Cezimo Nigeria Limited- which was linked to his associate, by approving seven NSITF consultancy, training and supply contracts worth N366,470,920.68, an offence punishable under Section 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
It alleged that between September 2015 to May 2023, the defendant also awarded eight NSITF contracts worth N583,682,686 to Zitacom Nigeria Limited, a company whose MD/CEO and alter ego, Ezebinwa Amarachukwu Charles, is his associate.
The EFCC also alleged that eight NSITF contracts valued at N362,043,163.16 were awarded to Jeff & Xris Limited, a company whose MD/CEO and alter ego, Nwosu Chukwunwike, is the ex-minister’s associate.
Whereas he was in count-four, accused of influencing four contracts worth N668,138,141 in favour of Olde English Consolidated Limited, belonging to his associate, identified as Uzoma Igbonwa, EFCC alleged that Ngige also gave another four contracts valued at N161,604,625, to the same person, through another company- Shale Atlantic Intercontinental Services Limited.
Aside from allegations that he had between May and June 2022, “corruptly” received monetary gifts from NSITF contractors, the prosecution told the court that he received N38,650,000 from a firm- Cezimo Nigeria Limited- using his campaign organisation, another N55,003,000 from Zitacom Nigeria Limited through his scholarship scheme, as well as N26,130,000 from Jeff & Xris Limited.
The offences were said to be contrary to sections 17(a) and 19 of the Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
The post Ngige’s trial: EFCC tenders petition in evidence as witness alleges contract fraud appeared first on Vanguard News.
