The trial of former Minister of Labour and Employment, Chris Ngige, over an alleged N2.26 billion fraud continued on Thursday at the FCT High Court, Gwarimpa, Abuja.
Justice M.A. Hassan adjourned to October 14, 2026 for ruling on the admissibility of documents tendered by the defence, and to November 11 and 12 for continuation of cross-examination of the third prosecution witness.
Ngige is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on an eight-count charge bordering on abuse of office and the alleged fraudulent award of contracts valued at N2,261,722,535.84.
At Thursday’s proceedings, the third prosecution witness, Onwusoro Maduka Iheamelam, was cross-examined by defence counsel, P.I.N. Ikwueto, SAN.
During the proceedings, the witness requested to see documents referred to by the defence to refresh his memory, explaining that the events under consideration occurred in 2021 and 2022.
When the defence sought to tender the documents, prosecution counsel, Sylvanu Tahir, SAN, objected, arguing that they were not certified true copies as required by law.
Relying on Section 104 of the Evidence Act 2011, Tahir urged the court to reject the documents, stating that they “violently offend the provision of Section 104 of the Evidence Act 2011.”
The witness further told the court that he had only reviewed the documents shown to him by the defence.
He also disclosed that he was a member of the panel that investigated the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund and submitted recommendations.
Under cross-examination, Iheamelam stated that he neither served as a member nor Secretary of the Parastatals Tenders Board.
He added that while there was no obvious external interference in the investigation of the NSITF, there could have been undisclosed interference behind the scenes.
He also confirmed that he was familiar with Zitacom Nigeria Limited and Shale Atlantic Intercontinental Services Limited, adding that both companies were awarded contracts by the NSITF.
Justice Hassan subsequently adjourned the matter to October 14 for ruling on the admissibility of the defence documents and to November 11 and 12 for the continuation of the witness’s cross-examination.
