The media aide to Mr Chris Ngige, former Minister of Labour, Fred Chukwuelobe, on Thursday said that his principal was not kidnapped as being speculated.
He said that the former minister is presently in the custody of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He stated that this “development comes barely days after Ngige’s convoy was violently attacked in Anambra State, a strike that left several persons injured among them a police orderly while one individual was confirmed dead”.
Ngige was not in the convoy at the time of the assault, but the incident heightened concerns surrounding his security profile.
Earlier on Wednesday, unverified reports circulated on social media alleging that Ngige had been abducted from his residence on Justice Mohammed Bello Road in Abuja, with claims that he was taken away abruptly.
Chukwuelobe confirmed this while giving an update on the whereabouts of the former governor of Anambra State, and it was not true that he was abducted as reported.
“I have been receiving calls in the past hour from friends and journalists seeking the veracity of the news making the rounds that His Excellency, Dr. Chris Ngige, former governor of Anambra state and immediate past Minister of Labour and Employment, has been kidnapped. Ngige is with the EFCC.
“He was not ‘abducted’ or ‘kidnapped’,’” he posted on Facebook.”
He emphasized that It is unclear why the agency detained Ngige as the anti-graft agency is yet to react to the development as of the time of filing this report.
Ngige is the second ex-President Muhammadu Buhari-era minister to be detained by the EFCC in recent times.
Abubakar Malami, former Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, is also in custody.
Malami had disclosed that he was being probed over recovery of “Abacha loot”.
“The EFCC informed me that its inquiry relates to an alleged duplication in the recovery of the $310m Abacha loot, which by accrual of interest rose to about $322.5m as at the time. I eventually succeeded in recovering the funds for the federal Government and, flowing from that assumption, two allegations were majorly raised, namely; abuse of office, and Money laundering,” he had said in a statement.
He, however, described the allegations as baseless, illogical, and wholly devoid of substance, saying they would collapse, when subjected to facts and elementary logic.
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