A prosecution witness for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Thursday cleared former Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Ngige, of allegations relating to an alleged N80 million fraud.
Ngige is standing trial on a five-count charge bordering on allegedly conferring undue advantage on five companies said to belong to his associates, as well as allegedly receiving monetary gifts of N38 million and N42 million through the Sen. Chris Ngige Foundation Scholarship Scheme and the Sen. Chris Ngige Campaign Organisation, respectively.
It will be recalled that, following the allegations, the former Anambra State governor was remanded at the Kuje Correctional Centre for three days last year before he was granted bail.
Senator Ngige has pleaded not guilty to all the charges and has consistently maintained his innocence.
At the resumed hearing before the Federal Capital Territory High Court, presided over by Justice Marian Hassan, the EFCC’s prosecution witness told the court that there was no undue influence or interference by the former Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Dr. Chris Ngige, during the 12-month period when the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) procurement process was domiciled in the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment between 2021 and 2022.
According to the witness, procurement activities carried out by both the Parastatal Tenders Board (PTB) and the Ministerial Tenders Board (MTB) were conducted in accordance with due process, without any interference or hindrance from the former minister.
The witness, Dr. Maduka Onwusoro, now a Permanent Secretary, testified that he served as Director of Procurement in the Ministry of Labour and Employment from 2019 to 2023. He explained that he worked alongside his deputy, Ms. Joyce Akponor, who was later deployed to the NSITF at the agency’s request to oversee procurement needs, collate bids, and forward recommendations to the PTB and MTB for contract awards between 2021 and 2022.
During cross-examination by the lead defence counsel, Chief P. I. N. Ikwueto, SAN, the witness examined an exhibit earlier tendered by the prosecution and confirmed that the approval annotations on the document were his. He further affirmed that all the companies recommended for approval by the Ministerial Tenders Board were evaluated and approved strictly on merit, adding that there was no undue interference or influence by anyone, including the former minister.
The former minister is accused of conferring undue advantage on Messrs. Zitacom Ltd., Shale Atlantic Ltd., and Olde English Consolidated Ltd., which appeared on the list of successful companies alongside several others.
However, the witness stated that, as the overall supervisor of procurement activities, no pressure or influence was exerted on him regarding the award of contracts to any of the three companies.
Earlier, during his testimony at the previous hearing last Thursday, the same witness had also stated emphatically that two other companies—Messrs. Cezimo Ltd. and Jeff & Xris Ltd.—were duly pre-qualified, emerged as the lowest bidders, and were awarded their contracts strictly on merit after complying with all procurement procedures.
Following the witness’s testimony, the defence sought to tender, from the Bar, certain documents containing approvals and directives issued by former President Muhammadu Buhari to the then Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF) and the former Minister of Labour and Employment, Senator Ngige.
The prosecution, however, objected to the admissibility of the documents, arguing that their certification by the Human Resources Department of the Federal Ministry of Labour and Employment did not comply with the requirements laid down by a previous Supreme Court decision on the certification of public documents.
In response to the objection, the defence team withdrew its application to tender the documents in order to properly regularise the certification process before re-presenting them.
Justice Marian Hassan subsequently adjourned the matter until October 14, 2026, for further hearing.
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