Court decides Yahaya Bello’s application for medical treatment abroad, July 17
By Andrew Orolua
The High Court of the Federal Capital Territory Abuja will on Tuesday, July 17 decides whether to grant permission to former governor of Kogi State Yahaya Bello to travel abroad for medical treatment.
Justice Maryann Anenih who is presiding over the trial of Yahaya Bello for an alleged N80.2bn fraud charges fixed July 17 after hearing Bello’s application.
At the resumed hearing of the money laundering case on Tuesday the former governor’s counsel, Joseph Daudu, SAN, told the court that he had filed the application, dated 19th June, 2025 on June 20, 2025.
“It seeks an order for the release of the 1st defendant/applicant’s international passport deposited with the Registrar of the court as part of his bail conditions, He said the passport would enable him “to travel for medical attention.”
The counsel said the application was predicated on 13 grounds in the face of the motion paper and supported by 22 paragraphs affidavit deposed to by Yahaya Bello himself.
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But , EFCC Counsel filed a counter-affidavit, saying granting the request could delay further proceedings.
Daudu, SAN, in response to the prosecution team’s counter-affidavit, said the Defendant’s team had also filed a further affidavit of 20 paragraphs, filed on July 7, 2025, and deposed to by the applicant himself with two exhibits.
“Exhibits C is the Certified True Copy of the ruling of your lordship, admitting the defendant to bail and Exhibit D is the ruling of the Federal High Court also admitting him to bail.
“We adopt these documents in urging your lordship to grant our application,” he stated.
Responding to the Prosecution’s argument that the application was an abuse of court process in the sense that a similar application was filed at Federal High Court, Daudu argued that it could not be an abuse of court process.
He hinged his argument on the fact that it was the complainant that instituted the two separate charges in the separate courts.
“It will be a futile exercise to apply in one court and not to apply in the other court,” Daudu, SAN submitted.
The prosecution counsel, Chukwudi Enebele, SAN, while defending the EFCC’s counter-affidavit, said Yahaya Bello should have put his sureties on notice with regard to his application to travel out of the country.
According to him, the sureties need to decide whether they would want to continue to stand as sureties for him when he travels.
He added that by filing the same application at both the FCT High Court and Federal High Court, the Defendant’s Counsel were setting the courts on a collision course.
“If Federal High Court refuses that application and my lord grants it, it will make mockery of our Judicial system,” the EFCC lawyer argued.
Responding, Daudu SAN said, on the issue of suretyship, the sureties were already aware.
“We need not put them on notice,” he said.
“Finally, on the interpol matter, Daudu said that the issue of Interpol likely to arrest the applicant is a dead argument, the applicant having submitted himself for trial.
“He has never flouted your lordship’s order. They themselves have even forgotten about those red alerts,” the lawyer added, urging the court to grant the application.
After listening to both parties, Justice Anenih adjourned the case to July 17, 2025 for ruling.
