Chris Ngige, former Anambra State governor and immediate past Minister of Labour and Employment, has been arrested in Abuja by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
His detention comes amid investigations into alleged fraudulent transactions linked to his tenure as minister.
The EFCC picked up Ngige on Wednesday at his residence on Justice Mohammed Bello Road in Abuja. His former media aide, Fred Chukwulobe, confirmed the arrest in a statement, stressing that contrary to rumours circulating online, Ngige was not kidnapped.
“Former Governor of Anambra State and immediate past minister of labour and employment, Dr. Chris Ngige, is with the EFCC. More details later,” Chukwulobe wrote.
Ngige’s arrest comes just two weeks after gunmen attacked his convoy along the Nkpor–Nnobi Road in Idemili North Local Government Area of Anambra State.
He was not in the vehicle at the time, but the incident heightened speculation about his safety.
Why EFCC is Involved
According to sources familiar with the investigation, the EFCC is probing multibillion-naira transactions allegedly carried out in parastatals under the Ministry of Labour and Productivity during Ngige’s tenure.
Reports suggest that the Commission is scrutinizing claims of fund mismanagement, including allegations of misuse of ₦48 billion tied to labour-related programmes.
Premium Times reported that Ngige may be charged to court “possibly today,” with EFCC operatives said to have whisked him away from his residence with a team of about 20 officers.
Ngige, who served as governor of Anambra State between 2003 and 2006 before becoming a federal minister from 2015 to 2023, is a prominent figure in Nigerian politics.
His arrest has sparked intense debate, with some viewing it as part of the government’s renewed anti-corruption drive, while others see political undertones.
The EFCC has not yet issued an official statement detailing the charges, but the case is expected to reignite complaints from the South East section of Nigeria, which often asserts that political figures from that extraction are often the target of anti-graft investigations in a country notorious of political and economic corruption.
Only on Thursday, former Minister of Aviation, Princess Stella Adaeze Oduah, also from Anambra State and her co-defendant, Gloria Odita, were arraigned before the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Maitama, Abuja, on multiple counts bordering on alleged fraud of N2.4 billion while in office nearly a decade ago.
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