Justice Maryam Aliyu Hassan of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT, sitting at Gwarimpa in Abuja, has ordered that the former Minister of Labour, Dr Chris Ngige, be kept at Kuje prison till December 18.

Ngige will be remanded until the date when his bail application is decided.

Justice Hassan issued the order on Monday shortly after taking arguments for and against the bail request of the former governor of Anambra State.

Ngige’s lawyer, Patrick Ikwueto SAN, pleaded with the Judge to admit the former Minister to bail on various reasons, but mainly on health grounds.

He submitted that the former Minister would not jump bail or interfere with witnesses if admitted to bail.

However, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), represented by Sylvanus Tahir, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria SAN, vehemently opposed the bail request, insisting that Ngige was a flight risk.

He told the judge that the defendant was granted administrative bail by EFCC and allowed to travel abroad for medical care, but never reported back to EFCC.

Besides, he said that the international passport released to him to facilitate the trip was never returned.

The senior lawyer argued that it was when Ngige was re-arrested that he came up with a purported claim that he lost his passport.

Insisting that the claims of passport loss were an afterthought and should not be believed by the Court, Tahir urged the court to dismiss the bail request as frivolous.

After the submissions, Justice Hassan fixed December 18 to deliver a ruling in the bail request.

Ngige was last Friday slammed with an eight-count charge of corrupt practices.