An FCT High Court in Maitama, Abuja, has clarified that the international passport of former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello is not in its custody, thereby dismissing his application seeking its release to enable him to travel abroad for medical treatment.
Justice Maryanne Anenih made the declaration on Thursday during the resumed hearing of a 16-count money laundering charge brought against Mr Bello by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The judge ruled that the application for the release of the travel document lacked merit, noting that Bello’s international passport was not submitted to the court’s registry but remained in the custody of the Federal High Court, where the former governor faces a separate but related criminal trial.
“The application is incompetent. This court cannot act on a document that is not before it,” Anenih stated.
“Even if the request were granted, it would be of no effect since the international passport is not in the custody of this court.”
She further explained that the bail conditions issued earlier required Bello to either deposit his passport with the FCT High Court or provide an affidavit if it was being held by another court.
In his own sworn affidavit, Bello admitted that the document was with the deputy chief registrar of the Federal High Court and promised to submit it once released.
“The international passport cannot be in two places at the same time. This court is not in a position to speculate whether he has more than one passport, especially when that fact has not been established before the court,” the judge added.
Bello, alongside co-defendants Umar Oricha and Abdulsalami Hudu, is standing trial for allegedly misappropriating public funds and engaging in property fraud to the tune of N110 billion while in office.
The trio was arraigned on November 27, 2024, on multiple counts of conspiracy, criminal breach of trust and money laundering.
The application in question, dated June 19 and filed on June 20, sought an order directing the court registrar to release the first defendant’s international passport on health grounds.
Bello’s lawyer, Joseph Daudu argued that the passport was not in the custody of the FCT High Court and that his client had complied with all bail conditions.
He supported his motion with a 22-paragraph affidavit deposed to by Bello himself.
The EFCC, however, opposed the motion, filing a counter-affidavit in which it urged the court not to grant the application, arguing that it could compromise the integrity of the trial and potentially aid the defendant’s flight from justice.
Justice Anenih ultimately upheld the EFCC’s objection, ruling that the application was not only procedurally defective but also based on a misleading assumption.
The court adjourned further hearing on the substantive matter to October 8.
Bello is also facing a separate set of corruption charges at the Federal High Court in Abuja, stemming from alleged financial crimes committed during his tenure as governor of Kogi State from 2016 to 2024.
The EFCC has accused him of laundering billions of naira through proxies and shell companies.
