The Federal High Court in Abuja has turned down former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello’s request to collect his international passport. He wanted to use the passport to travel abroad for medical treatment. The ruling was made on Monday, July 21.

Justice Emeka Nwite said the medical report that Bello submitted was not signed by the doctor who wrote it. Because of that, the court could not accept it as valid proof.

However, the judge disagreed with the EFCC’s claim that Bello’s request was an abuse of court process. According to Justice Nwite, the EFCC’s lawyer didn’t give any legal reference to support the claim that sureties must be notified before such a request can be made.

Bello’s lawyer, Joseph Daudu (SAN), told the court that his client has been battling high blood pressure for 15 years. He asked the court to allow Bello to go to the UK for treatment. He said the documents presented (Exhibits A and B) clearly showed the seriousness of Bello’s health issue.

But EFCC’s lead lawyer, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), objected. She said the request was not proper and similar requests had already been made at the FCT High Court. She also argued that the people who stood as sureties for Bello were not informed.

Justice Nwite rejected the EFCC’s argument. He said it was clear that Bello is facing trial in both this court and the FCT High Court. He also noted that while the FCT High Court required Bello to seek permission before traveling, this didn’t mean the request was improper. Both courts have equal authority, so the current request didn’t count as misuse of the court.

On the main issue, the judge said the medical report Bello submitted (Exhibit B) was not signed. This made it invalid in court. Since there was no proper evidence to back Bello’s health claim, the court decided not to release his passport.

The judge then postponed the case. The next hearing dates are October 7, October 10, November 10, and November 11.