Court Stops Yahaya Bello From Traveling Abroad For Medical Treatment

A Federal High Court in Abuja has turned down a request by former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, to travel abroad for medical care.

The request was part of an application Bello filed in June, seeking the release of his international passport. He told the court he needed to travel to the United Kingdom for urgent medical attention. His lawyers submitted medical reports to back the claim, arguing that he has been battling hypertension for over 15 years.

But the judge, Justice Emeka Nwite, ruled that the medical report attached to the application could not be relied upon. He noted that the report was not signed by the doctor who authored it, making it legally invalid. According to the court, an unsigned document has no legal weight and cannot be considered in any serious proceeding.

Yahaya Bello is currently facing trial by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) over allegations of financial crimes during his time as governor. The EFCC had opposed the request to release his passport, arguing that it was an attempt to delay justice and an abuse of court process.

In its argument, the prosecution said the motion was flawed and that Bello’s sureties were not informed of the request, which they claimed rendered the application incompetent. However, the judge dismissed that claim, stating that there is no legal requirement to involve sureties in such an application. He also clarified that since both the Federal High Court and the FCT High Court are of equal standing, the application itself could not be seen as an abuse of court.

Despite that clarification, the core issue remained the unsigned medical report. Justice Nwite concluded that the former governor failed to present enough reliable evidence to convince the court to release his passport for the proposed medical trip. As a result, the application was rejected.

The trial will continue on October 7 and 10, and again on November 10 and 11, 2025.