There is apprehension in Anambra over the arrest of a former governor of the state and immediate past Minister for Labour and Employment, Senator Chris Nwabueze Ngige, by the Economic Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

The social media was awash yesterday, Wednesday, December 10, 2025, with claims that Ngige had been kidnapped, but it turned out that he was being held at the head office of the EFCC in Abuja.

Confirming Ngige’s whereabouts, his media aide, Fred Chukwuelobe, said in a terse statement last night: “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.’”

Chukwulobe stressed that there was no abduction and confirmed that the former minister is with anti-graft operatives.

“Ngige is with the EFCC. He was not ‘abducted’ or ‘kidnapped’,” he insisted.

Chukwuelobe added that more information about Ngige’s situation would be made available in due course.

Meanwhile, a gloomy atmosphere pervades at Ngige’s country home in Alor, Idemili South Local Government Area, according to a report by the portal, 247Ureports, which has its roots in Anambra. “Villagers spoke in hush tones over the report,” the online medium said.

Ngige’s arrest and detention by the EFCC comes amid long-standing corruption allegations tied to his political career. The EFCC once produced a report accusing him of diverting or laundering more than N46 billion earmarked for Anambra’s local governments during his time as governor.

In his later role overseeing the Nigeria Social Insurance Trust Fund (NSITF) as Labour Minister, he was questioned by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), with EFCC support, over alleged contract irregularities and claims of ‘job-racketeering.’

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