Court rejects Yahaya Bello’s request to travel abroad
By Jeffrey Agbo
A Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday rejected a request by former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, to have his international passport released for a medical trip abroad.
Justice Emeka Nwite, who delivered the ruling during the resumed hearing of the money laundering case brought against Bello by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), stated that the medical report submitted in support of the application was not signed by the doctor who purportedly issued it.
While dismissing the EFCC’s claim that Bello’s application constituted an abuse of court process, Justice Nwite clarified that the motion could not be considered an abuse since both the Federal High Court and the FCT High Court are courts of coordinate jurisdiction.
Bello had sought permission to travel to the United Kingdom for medical treatment.
His lawyer, Joseph Daudu, SAN, told the court that Bello had been battling hypertension for about 15 years and presented two exhibits—Exhibits A and B—described as expert reports on his health. Daudu argued that the evidence presented was sufficient to justify a favourable ruling.
However, the prosecution, led by Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, countered that the motion was an abuse of court process, noting it mirrored an existing application already filed before the FCT High Court. Pinheiro further argued the application was procedurally flawed because the defendant’s sureties were not informed.
On the issue of involving the sureties, Justice Nwite disagreed with the prosecution.
“The counsel to the complainant did not cite any section of the law that says sureties should be given notice or made a party in the motion on notice. The counsel did not cite any law, whether locally or internationally, to back his argument.”
Addressing the abuse of court process claim, he added: “On the abuse of process of court, it is the argument of the complainant that the instant application is incompetent and amount to abuse of court process.
It is not in dispute that the applicant is standing trial before this court and FCT High Court and it is not in dispute that the applicant was granted bail in this court on Dec.13, 2024 and at FCT High Court on Dec. 19, 2024.
The FCT High Court, in its ruling, said that the applicant must seek the leave of the court.
Hence, this instant application does not amount to abuse of court process.
It is also the fact that this court and the FCT High Court are courts of coordinate jurisdiction,” the judge stated.
Nevertheless, Justice Nwite held that the unsigned medical report, marked Exhibit B, lacked legal weight.
“In other words, Exhibit B is devoid of probative value and cannot be relied upon by the court. The defendant has failed to place sufficient material before this court for his passport to be released for him to travel. Consequently, this application is hereby refused,” he ruled.
The case was adjourned to October 7, October 10, November 10, and November 11 for further trial.
