The surety is required to deposit documents of the landed property and travel documents with the court pending the finalisation of the retrieval of Ngige’s passport.
Justice Mariam Hassan of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Gwarinpa, on Wednesday ordered that former Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, continue to enjoy the administrative bail earlier granted him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The court, however, directed that Ngige present a surety who is a director in a Federal Government employment and owns landed property.
The surety is required to deposit documents of the landed property and travel documents with the court pending the finalisation of the retrieval of Ngige’s passport.
Ngige was granted bail by the EFCC on self-recognizance, with the commission requiring him to submit his travel documents and provide one credible surety.
Justice Hassan had ordered that Ngige be kept at Kuje Correctional Centre till December 18, when his bail application would be decided one way or the other.
Justice Hassan issued the order on Monday, shortly after taking arguments for and against the bail application of the former governor of Anambra state.
Counsel for Ngige, Patrick Ikwueto, SAN, pleaded with the Judge to admit the former Minister to bail on various reasons but mainly on health ground.
He submitted that the former Minister would not jump bail or interfere with witnesses if admitted to bail.
However, the 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 the anti-graft agency and allowed to travel abroad for medical care but never reported back.
Besides, he said the passport of the former minister released to him to facilitate the foreign trip, "was never returned till today".
Tahir argued that it was when Ngige was re-arrested that he came up with a claim that he lost his passport.
Insisting that the claims 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 adjourned till December 18 to deliver ruling on the bail application.
The EFCC had, arraigned Ngige on an 8-count charge bordering on alleged N2.2 billion contract fraud and acceptance of gifts from contractors of the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) while he served as its supervising minister between September 2015 and May 2023.