Justice Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court, Maitama, Abuja, on Monday, July 21, 2025, denied former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Adoza Bello’s request for the release of his international passport to enable him to travel to the United Kingdom for medical treatment.
Bello, who is facing a 19-count charge of alleged money laundering totaling N80.2 billion alongside his nephew Ali Bello, Dauda Suleiman, and Abdulsalam Hudu, had sought temporary leave to seek medical care abroad. The charges were filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The judge ruled that Bello failed to present convincing evidence to justify the need for overseas treatment, particularly when local health facilities had not been shown to be inadequate. Justice Nwite noted inconsistencies in the medical documents submitted, highlighting that the report from the Confluence University of Science and Technology Teaching Hospital, Okene, lacked the signature of a clearly qualified medical specialist and that the letter from the UK clinic was unsigned—rendering it legally inadmissible.
“The court cannot rely on a medical report not signed by the examining doctor or a foreign appointment letter without a verifiable author,” Nwite stated, adding that hypertension, which Bello cited as his condition, had not been proven to require treatment unavailable in Nigeria.
At a previous sitting on June 27, Bello’s counsel, J.B. Daudu, SAN, had argued that his client posed no flight risk and had no criminal record abroad. The application, backed by a 22-paragraph affidavit deposed to by Bello, was filed under Section 173(2)(a) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act.
However, EFCC’s lead counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, opposed the request, arguing it was a repetitive attempt to bypass judicial process and that Bello was already under international watch. He described the application as “technically incompetent,” noting the failure to involve the defendant’s bail sureties and the global dimension of the charges involving assets and funds in Dubai, the US, and the UK.
Pinheiro also questioned why Bello would seek foreign medical care despite previously boasting of building a state-of-the-art hospital in Kogi State.
Delivering his ruling, Justice Nwite emphasized the lack of “special circumstances” to justify the court’s discretion in releasing the passport.
“In the absence of compelling evidence that the defendant’s condition cannot be managed in Nigeria, the application is refused,” he concluded.
