Court Rejects Yahaya Bello’s Request for Passport Release Over Unsigned Medical Report

The Federal High Court in Abuja has rejected a request by former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, to release his international passport so he could travel abroad for medical treatment.

Justice Emeka Nwite, in a ruling delivered on Monday during the resumed hearing of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) money laundering case against Bello, held that the medical report submitted to support the request lacked credibility as it was unsigned. He, however, dismissed claims by the prosecution that the application was an abuse of court process.

Bello’s lawyer, Joseph Daudu (SAN), argued that the former governor had been battling hypertension for 15 years, and submitted medical reports—Exhibits A and B—asserting that they provided adequate grounds for the court to exercise discretion in his favour.

However, EFCC’s lead counsel, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), maintained that the application was improper and an abuse of process, pointing out that similar reliefs were being sought in another court and that the defendant’s sureties had not been notified.

In his ruling, Justice Nwite clarified that the sureties were not parties to the application and that no legal provision required their notification. He also emphasized that the medical document—Exhibit B—was unsigned and thus carried no legal or evidentiary weight.

Citing insufficient evidence to justify releasing Bello’s passport, the court dismissed the application and adjourned further hearings in the case to October 7, October 10, November 10, and November 11.