An Abuja High Court yesterday fixed Thursday to rule on the bail application filed by a former Minister of Labour, Chris Ngige. Ngige is standing trial over alleged N2.2 billion fraud.

Trial Judge, Justice Maryan Hassan adjourned till that day shortly after taking arguments for and against the bail request of the former governor of Anambra State.

Ngige’s counsel, Patrick Ikwueto (SAN) pleaded with the Judge to allow 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 (SAN), 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 abroad trip was never returned till today. 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 claim of passport loss was an afterthought and should not be believed by the Court, Tahir urged the court to dismiss the bail request for being frivolous.

After the submissions, Justice Hassan fixed Thursday to deliver his ruling on the bail request. Ngige was last Friday slammed with eight charges of corrupt practices.