Justice Marianne Anineh of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, High Court, Maitama, Abuja, on Tuesday, July 8, 2025, reserved ruling till July 17, 2025, on an application filed by former Kogi State governor, Yahaya Adoza Bello, seeking permission to travel to the United Kingdom for medical treatment.
Bello is standing trial alongside Umar Shuaibu Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu on a 16-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust and money laundering to the tune of N110.4 billion. The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, is prosecuting the trio.
At Tuesday’s proceedings, counsel to the first defendant, J.B. Daudu, SAN, moved a motion on notice dated June 19 and filed June 20, 2025, seeking leave of court to allow Bello to travel for medical treatment.
He also sought an order of temporary release of the defendant’s international passport to enable him attend a scheduled medical appointment in the UK, with an undertaking to return the passport to the court upon his return.
Daudu informed the court that the application was brought on 13 grounds as stated in the face of the motion and supported by a 22-paragraph affidavit deposed to by Bello himself. Attached to the affidavit were two medical reports, including one from the Confluence University of Science and Technology, and a medical appointment letter with one Dr. Amanda Barnabas in the UK.
He further relied on Exhibit C, which he identified as a certified true copy of the ruling of the court that granted Bello bail, stressing that there was no condition barring him from travelling abroad.
“We adopt all the documents and written addresses filed in support of the application,” Daudu submitted, arguing that the application was not an abuse of court process.
He contended that the prosecution’s objection based on the existence of a similar application before another court was unfounded, noting that it is within the rights of a defendant to seek a second medical opinion if he can afford it.
“There is no evidence that the first defendant is a flight risk. He has consistently attended court and has not defaulted. The only issue raised by the prosecution is that the sureties were not put on notice, but that is a personal matter between the sureties and the defendant,” he said.
However, in opposition to the application, prosecution counsel Chukwudi Inibini, SAN, urged the court to refuse the request. He adopted the affidavit in opposition deposed to by one Abubakar Wara on July 4, 2025.
Inibini argued that the application sought to alter the bail conditions already imposed by the court, which specifically required that the defendant deposit his international passport.
“The sureties were part of the bail process and ought to be put on notice, especially to confirm whether they are willing to continue as sureties if the defendant travels out of the country,” he said.
He further accused the defendant of engaging in abuse of court process by filing a similar application in another court, noting that the application was still awaiting ruling.
“The proper thing would have been for the defendant to retrieve his passport from the other court and then apply for a travel permit before this court. Asking both courts to release the same passport at the same time creates the risk of conflicting orders, which is an abuse of process,” he said.
The prosecution also raised concerns about the authenticity and credibility of the medical reports attached to the application, pointing out that one of the reports was signed on behalf of a consultant without disclosing the qualification of the signatory.
Inibini further reminded the court that Bello had, during his tenure as governor, commissioned what he described as an “ultra-modern” hospital in Kogi State, which he touted as the best in Nigeria.
“My Lord, he himself said the hospital was built to end medical tourism. Now that he seeks to travel abroad, it is only fair that he uses the hospital he built,” he said.
The prosecution also informed the court that the defendant is currently on INTERPOL’s red list and that some of the charges in the matter, particularly counts 11 and 14, have international dimensions involving properties allegedly acquired in Dubai, the United States, and the United Arab Emirates.
He warned that allowing the defendant to travel abroad could expose him to arrest and complicate the ongoing trial.
“He has not provided sufficient assurance that he will return. Given his antecedents before he presented himself to the court, we urge your lordship to dismiss this application,” he said.
Responding on points of law, Daudu insisted that the sureties were already aware of the application and that there was no risk of conflicting orders, as courts have granted similar applications in the past without issue.
On the issue of INTERPOL red notice, he argued that the court’s grant of bail supersedes any external restriction.
After hearing all arguments, Justice Anineh adjourned the matter to Thursday, July 17, 2025, for ruling.
