Court Set July 17 for ruling on Yahaya Bello’s Medical Travel Appilation
Justice Marianne Anineh of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Maitama, Abuja, has reserved ruling until July 17, 2025, on a motion filed by former Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, seeking permission to travel to the United Kingdom for medical treatment.
Bello is facing trial alongside Umar Shuaibu Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu on a 16-count charge of alleged criminal breach of trust and money laundering amounting to N110.4 billion, brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
At the hearing on Tuesday, Bello’s counsel, J.B. Daudu, SAN, urged the court to grant leave for the former governor to travel for a scheduled medical appointment and to release his international passport temporarily.
“We adopt all the documents and written addresses filed in support of the application,” Daudu said, insisting the motion was not an abuse of the court process. “There is no evidence that the first defendant is a flight risk. He has consistently attended court and has not defaulted.”
Daudu also argued: “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.”
Prosecuting counsel, Chukwudi Inibini, SAN, opposed the motion. “The sureties were part of the bail process and ought to be put on notice,” he said.
Inibini maintained the application amounted to an abuse of the court process, adding: “Asking both courts to release the same passport at the same time creates the risk of conflicting orders.”
He further questioned the validity of one medical report, stating it “was signed on behalf of a consultant without disclosing the qualification of the signatory.”
