A Federal High Court in Abuja has refused to release the passport of former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello. He had asked the court for permission to travel to the United Kingdom for medical treatment.
The court gave its ruling on Monday, July 21. Justice Emeka Nwite said the medical report attached to Bello’s request was not signed and therefore could not be trusted.
“The document marked as Exhibit B has no value in the eyes of the law. The defendant has failed to provide enough evidence to convince the court to release his passport. This application is hereby refused,” Justice Nwite said.
Bello’s lawyer, Joseph Daudu (SAN), told the court that his client has been suffering from high blood pressure for over 15 years. But the judge insisted that the unsigned medical report was not good enough.
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The prosecution had argued that Bello’s request was an abuse of court process and that his sureties were not involved in the application. However, Justice Nwite disagreed, saying the law does not require sureties to be part of such requests.
“The prosecution did not refer to any law, local or international, that says sureties must be included in this kind of application,” the judge said.
He also said that since both the Federal High Court and the FCT High Court are courts of equal authority, Bello’s application did not break any legal rule.
The court has adjourned the case until October 7 for further hearing.
Yahaya Bello is facing trial for allegedly laundering over N80.2 billion that reportedly belongs to Kogi State. The case was brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).