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.
Pending the ruling, Ngige will remain in remand at the Kuje Correctional Centre.
Justice Hassan gave the order on Monday after hearing arguments for and against the bail application filed by the former governor of Anambra State.
Counsel to the former minister, Patrick Ikwueto, SAN, urged the court to grant Ngige bail on several grounds, particularly his health condition. He argued that his client was not a flight risk and lacked the capacity to leave the country at this time.
Ikwueto further assured the court that the former minister would not jump bail or interfere with witnesses if admitted to bail.
However, counsel for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Sylvanus Tahir, opposed the application, contending that Ngige posed a flight risk.
Tahir told the court that the defendant had previously been granted administrative bail by the EFCC and was permitted to travel abroad for medical treatment but failed to report back to the agency upon his return.
He added that the international passport released to Ngige to facilitate the trip had not been returned.
According to the senior lawyer, it was only after Ngige was re-arrested that he claimed the passport had been lost, a claim Tahir described as an afterthought that should not be believed by the court.
He therefore urged the court to dismiss the bail application as frivolous.
After hearing the submissions, Justice Hassan adjourned the matter until December 18 for ruling.
Ngige was arraigned last Friday on an eight-count charge bordering on alleged corrupt practices and pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
