The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday rejected a request by former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, to retrieve his international passport, citing the absence of a signature on the medical report submitted with the application.
While ruling on the matter during the resumed hearing of the money laundering case brought against Bello by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), Justice Emeka Nwite held that, contrary to the prosecution’s claim, the application did not amount to an abuse of court process.
Bello had sought the release of his passport to enable him to travel to the United Kingdom for medical treatment.
The judge noted that the defence counsel had argued that Bello had been managing hypertension for over 15 years.
Lead counsel, Joseph Daudu, SAN, had presented Exhibits A and B—medical documents that outlined the applicant’s health condition—and submitted that sufficient evidence had been provided to warrant a favourable exercise of the court’s discretion.
Justice Nwite also noted the prosecution’s argument that the application constituted an abuse of process.
The prosecution urged the court to reject the motion, arguing that the reliefs sought were repetitive and that the application was procedurally defective because the defendant’s sureties had not been notified.
Addressing the surety issue, the judge clarified that the case before the court was Yahaya Bello v. Federal Republic of Nigeria, not Yahaya Bello v. the sureties.
He further agreed with the defence counsel’s submission that the sureties were not relevant to the present application and should not be part of the motion.
“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.
“On the abuse of process of court, it is the argument of the complainant that the instant application is incompetent and amounts to abuse of court process.
“It is not in dispute that the applicant is standing trial before this court and the FCT court, and it is not in dispute that the applicant was granted bail in this court on December 13, 2024 and at the FCT High Court on December 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 an abuse of the court process.
“It is also the fact that this court and the FCT High Court are courts of coordinate jurisdiction,” Justice Nwite stated.
The court, however, ruled that Exhibit B—a medical report submitted by a doctor—was not signed and therefore held no legal standing.
It stressed that an unsigned document has no legal relevance and is effectively considered invalid.
In essence, the judge stated that Exhibit B lacks evidential value and cannot be used as a basis for any judicial decision.
“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,” Justice Nwite said.
The case was subsequently adjourned to October 7 and 10, as well as November 10 and 11, 2025, for the continuation of the trial.
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