EFCC vs Yahaya Bello: Court declines medical travel request cites invalid evidence

A Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday rejected a request by former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, for the release of his international passport to enable him travel abroad for medical treatment.

Justice Emeka Nwite, who gave the ruling during the hearing of a money laundering case filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) against Bello, said the medical report submitted in support of the application was not signed by its author and therefore had no legal value.

Although the judge disagreed with the EFCC’s claim that the application amounted to an abuse of court process, he ruled that there was insufficient evidence to grant Bello’s request.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Bello had asked the court to release his passport to allow him travel to the United Kingdom for medical care. His lawyer, Joseph Daudu, SAN, argued that the former governor had been battling hypertension for over 15 years and had submitted two medical reports, Exhibits A and B, to support the application.

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Daudu insisted that the court had enough information to use its discretion in Bello’s favour. But EFCC counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, countered that the request should be denied, claiming it duplicated a similar application already pending before the FCT High Court and that the motion was faulty since Bello’s sureties were not notified.

On that issue, Justice Nwite ruled that the case was between the Federal Republic of Nigeria and Yahaya Bello—not his sureties—so they didn’t need to be included or informed. He noted that Pinheiro failed to cite any law supporting the inclusion of sureties in such an application.

The judge also stated that because both the Federal High Court and FCT High Court are courts of equal jurisdiction, filing the application before both does not amount to an abuse of process.

However, Justice Nwite maintained that Exhibit B, the medical report submitted by Bello’s doctor, had no probative value since it was unsigned. He stressed that unsigned documents carry no legal weight and are not admissible as evidence.

“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,” the judge ruled.

The case was adjourned to October 7, October 10, November 10, and November 11 for continuation of trial.