There was a stir and loud laughter in the court room of the FCT Court 33, Gwarimpa, Abuja, presided over by Hon Justice M. A. Hassan when the EFCC 1st Witness and petitioner to the Chairman of EFCC that triggered the EFCC investigation since August 2023 into the affairs and corruption and contract fraud & irregularities in the NSITF. The former Minister of Labor and Employment was accused and arraigned by the EFCC on 5 counts of using his position to confer “unfair advantages” on 5 companies belonging to his Political Associates and Friends.

At the resumed hearing in the Court, the head witness Mr Chellen Pedro, a Chief Operating Officer (COO) of a company  Imani-Hag Nig LTD narrated how he bided for an advertised NSIFT office Makurdi Renovation Contract in 2017 for N85m (Eighty Five Million Naira) and was the lowest responsive bid, but was surprised after 3 months of waiting to hear when he went to NSITF, from the Head of Procurement, Engineer Lawal, that another company called ALTITUDE Global Limited who was not part of those who bided, was awarded the job for N114m (One Hundred and Fourteen Million Naira Only). He petitioned the BPP in 2019, and on pressure for reconciliation, Enge Lawal and the NSITF Pastor, Bayo Somefun, awarded and gave him 3 contracts to make for 60% of the one he lost.

Under cross examination by Defense Counsel P.I.N. Ikwueto (SAN), witness admitted that he did not write the statement at EFCC in one day on 8th August 2025, because he was sick. On further cross examination, he was shown his statement which showed that one Mustafa Mukaila wrote the statement because he had answered that he could not write in English and that the statements were written in 2 days – 8th and 9th August 2025. When asked whether he bided for the 3 swapped contracts, he said NO, same answer on whether he saw any advertisement for the 3 contracts of supply of shredders, Gubabi safes and deading of South-South offices when the defense lawyer asked him the total, he said it was N25m (twenty-five million naira only), i.e., N10m (ten million naira each except for Gubabi safe of N5m – five million naira only). He further agreed that the contract was awarded to him in breach of the procurement process and law, and made him, Engr Lawan and Pastor Somefun collaborators in corruption in the organization he is calling the EFCC to investigate for contract scam and corruption. This threw the court room into laughter.

When asked whether he knew it was that kind of situation that made Dr Ngige, then Minister, to institute a Ministerial Audit Investigation Panel into the activities (Awute Panel) in 2018, he replied that he did not know about the panel. He also claimed that he did not know that a Presidential Panel on Financial Procurement Breaches was again set up in 2020 as part of the Minister’s efforts to make the system free of corruption. Following the Auditor General’s report that indicted NSITF in 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, and 2020, years they did not also have audited reports. He also attested he had no contact with Ngige as Minister, and that the injustice their coy suffered was not because of Dr. Ngige, but NSITF Management. 

Case was adjourned at the insistence of the prosecution to enable them to bring more witnesses including a former acting MD NSITF, Dr Kelly Nwagha, who was led in evidence by the prosecuting counsel, Sylvanus Tahir (SAN) examined before prosecution pushed for adjournment to 26th and 27th February 2026.