The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has opposed a fresh application filed by embattled former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Adoza Bello, seeking court permission to travel abroad for medical treatment.
Bello, currently facing trial over an alleged ₦80.2 billion money laundering case, filed the request at the Federal High Court in Maitama, Abuja, where arguments were heard on Thursday, June 27, 2025.
The EFCC, through its legal team, urged Justice Emeka Nwite to reject the application, describing it as a gross abuse of court process and a disguised attempt to flee the country under the pretext of seeking medical care.
Bello’s lead counsel, Joseph Daudu, SAN, presented the motion backed by a 22-paragraph affidavit sworn to by the former governor himself. The application included attached medical reports and a letter from a cardiologist, which the prosecution later questioned, raising doubts about the doctor’s identity and qualifications.
Daudu argued that Bello had not travelled out of Nigeria in over eight years and now requires urgent medical intervention, which, according to him, cannot be provided locally—even at the multimillion-naira hospital the former governor commissioned during his tenure in Kogi State.
The case continues as the court weighs the merits of the application against the EFCC’s objections.
“This is about releasing his passport which he surrendered as part of his bail conditions. The issue is not whether there are hospitals in Nigeria, but whether the defendant is a flight risk. He has no criminal record abroad and will return before the end of August. My Lord can even fix a return date,” he told the court.
But the EFCC’s lead prosecutor, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, came down hard on the request, accusing Bello of filing similar applications before multiple courts in a deliberate attempt to mislead and derail proceedings.
“This is a gross abuse of court process,” Pinheiro thundered.
“The motion is technically incompetent. His sureties were not notified or made parties to this motion. If he absconds, who takes responsibility?”
He cautioned that the former governor posed a serious flight risk and could be arrested internationally. “This man is already on red alert. If he leaves the country, he risks being apprehended and extradited. He could be ‘Hushpuppied’ out of Dubai,” he warned, drawing a comparison to the high-profile arrest and extradition of Instagram influencer Hushpuppi over cybercrime allegations.
Pinheiro also discredited the medical report submitted by Bello’s legal team, describing both the document and its author as lacking credibility.
“The doctor who signed the report did not include his qualifications or specialty. And what are we talking about here? Low potassium? Mild hypertension? Those can be handled in any Nigerian hospital. If he needs potassium, let him eat banana and pawpaw,” the EFCC lawyer said.
Pinheiro further ridiculed Bello’s claim of inadequate healthcare in Nigeria, stating, “It takes just two hours to travel from Abuja to Lokoja. He built a so-called world-class hospital in Kogi—let him use it instead of flying six hours to the UK.”
He also reminded the court of the serious nature of the charges against the former governor, emphasizing that money laundering is a transnational crime. “This case involves funds traced to foreign accounts in the US and UK, and properties in Dubai. It’s not a local matter—it’s international in scope,” he said.
In response, Bello’s lead counsel, Joseph Daudu, argued that the application followed due legal process, adding that the EFCC’s red notice had become irrelevant since Bello was already under the court’s jurisdiction.
“There’s no requirement for sureties to be part of this application,” Daudu contended, urging the court to exercise its discretion and grant Bello permission to travel abroad for medical treatment.
Justice Emeka Nwite is expected to deliver a ruling on the application at a later adjourned date.
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