The Federal High Court in Abuja on Monday rejected a request by the immediate past Governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, for the release of his international passport to enable him to travel abroad for medical treatment.

The court dismissed the application on the grounds that the medical report attached to the request was not signed by its author.

Bello, who is facing charges of alleged N80.2 billion fraud before Justice Emeka Nwite, brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, had applied for the release of his travel document to enable him to seek medical attention in the United Kingdom.

Bello is also standing trial on similar charges before Justice Maryanne Anenih of the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Maitama.

Bello had filed a similar application before Justice Anenih’s court, seeking the release of his passport. However, the judge noted that the passport was not in the custody of the FCT High Court but with the Federal High Court, where it had been deposited.

She added that even if the application were granted, it would be ineffective since the passport was not in her court’s possession.

Meanwhile, the EFCC, while opposing the application, described it as an abuse of court process, stressing that seeking the same relief in two separate courts simultaneously risked conflicting rulings and undermined judicial integrity.

Justice Nwite, while delivering ruling at the resumed hearing of the alleged money laundering case, however, held that contrary to the EFCC’s submission, the application was not an abuse of court process.

He stated that counsel to the defendant had argued that the applicant had been a known hypertensive patient for about 15 years.

Defence counsel, Joseph Daudu (SAN), had presented Exhibits A and B, which contained expert reports on the health status of Bello, asserting that sufficient material had been provided to warrant the court exercising its discretion in favour of the application.

The judge also recalled that the prosecution had argued the motion was an abuse of process.

The EFCC, while urging the court to dismiss the application, argued that the reliefs sought were similar to those in the FCT court and that the motion was technically incompetent because the defendant’s sureties were not informed.

The case was thereafter adjourned to October 7, 10 and November 10 and 11, 2025, for continuation of trial.