There were reports earlier claiming that the former Minister of Labour and Employment had been abducted from his residence in Abuja.
Former Governor of Anambra State, Chris Ngige, is in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), and not kidnapped, his aide has clarified.
Reports claimed that the former Minister of Labour and Employment had been abducted from his residence on Justice Mohammed Bello Road in Abuja.
However, Fred Chukwuelobe, Ngige’s media aide, dismissed the speculation.
“I have been receiving calls in the past hour from friends and journalists seeking the veracity of the news,” he wrote on Facebook on Thursday.
“His Excellency, Dr Chris Ngige, has not been kidnapped. Ngige is with the EFCC. He was not ‘abducted’ or ‘kidnapped’,” he clarified.
Chukwuelobe said he would provide details later. The reason for the EFCC’s alleged action remains unclear.
As of the time of filing this report, the EFCC has not issued any statement on the matter.
The development comes less than two weeks after gunmen reportedly attacked Ngige’s convoy in Anambra.
This is not the first time Ngige has faced scrutiny from anti-graft authorities.
In 2024, the ICPC questioned him over alleged job racketeering and irregular contract awards at the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF), after inviting top officials linked to a disputed ₦47 million gratuity payment and suspected contract breaches totalling ₦1.8 billion.
He was not detained at the time but was told he might be invited again as the investigation progressed.
Ngige, a member of the All Progressives Congress (APC), served as Anambra State governor between May 2003 and March 2006 under the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).
He is the second person who served as minister under the Muhammadu Buhari administration to be detained by the EFCC in recent weeks.
A former Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, is also in custody over an ongoing probe.
Malami said the EFCC informed him that the inquiry concerned an alleged duplication in the recovery of the $310 million Abacha loot, which later accrued interest to $322.5 million.
He described the allegations of abuse of office and money laundering as “baseless, illogical, and wholly devoid of substance,” insisting they would collapse under factual scrutiny.
