Court Denies Yahaya Bello’s Request to Travel Abroad for Medical Treatment.

A Federal High Court in Abuja has denied former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello’s request to retrieve his international passport so he could travel abroad for medical treatment. Justice Emeka Nwite, who delivered the ruling on Monday, stated that the medical report Bello submitted to justify his request was unsigned and therefore inadmissible under the law.

Bello is currently on trial for alleged money laundering involving N80.2 billion, brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). He also faces similar charges before a different judge at the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Maitama.

In court, Bello’s lawyer, Joseph Daudu (SAN), argued that Bello has been suffering from hypertension for 15 years and urgently needs medical care in the UK. Two documents were presented—Exhibits A and B—claimed to be expert medical reports. However, the court found that Exhibit B, the main medical report, was invalid since it lacked the author’s signature.

Justice Nwite emphasized that unsigned documents carry no legal weight and thus cannot be considered credible evidence. He concluded that Bello did not provide enough valid information to justify the return of his passport.

On another point raised by the EFCC—that the application was an abuse of court process and should have included Bello’s sureties—Justice Nwite disagreed. He stated that the case is between Bello and the Nigerian state, not his sureties, and that there is no legal requirement for sureties to be involved in such an application.

Furthermore, the judge rejected the EFCC’s claim that the request conflicted with the FCT High Court’s earlier directive. He clarified that since that court required Bello to obtain permission before traveling, his application to this court complied with that directive and was not improper.

Ultimately, due to the lack of a valid medical report, the court denied the application. The trial was adjourned to continue on October 7 and 10, and November 10 and 11, 2025.