A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has rejected a request by former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello to retrieve his international passport for a medical trip to the United Kingdom.
Presiding over the matter, Justice Emeka Nwite ruled on Monday that the medical report submitted to back Bello’s application was not signed by the doctor who issued it, rendering the document legally invalid
While the judge dismissed claims by the prosecution that the application amounted to an abuse of court process, he maintained that the unsigned Exhibit B, which contained details of Bello’s medical condition, lacked probative value and could not be relied upon by the court.
Bello’s legal team, led by Joseph Daudu, SAN, had argued that the former governor has been battling hypertension for over 15 years and urgently required medical care abroad. The defence presented two exhibits in support of the motion, urging the court to exercise discretion and grant the request.
However, the prosecution team opposed the motion, describing it as procedurally defective. They contended that the sureties who guaranteed Bello’s bail were not notified and that similar reliefs had been previously sought, thereby abusing the court process.
In his ruling, Justice Nwite clarified that the application was properly filed and did not violate any legal procedures, especially as the sureties were not parties to the motion.
“The complainant’s counsel failed to cite any legal provision, local or international, that mandates notifying sureties in such an application,” the judge said.
Despite agreeing that the application did not constitute an abuse of court process, the judge stressed that the unsigned medical report could not serve as a valid basis to release Bello’s passport.
“The court cannot act on a document that holds no legal weight. An unsigned report carries no probative value,” Justice Nwite added.
As a result, the court refused the application and adjourned the matter to October 7, 10, and November 10, 11, 2025, for the continuation of trial in the alleged money laundering case.
