Yahaya Bello, the former governor of Kogi State, has asked a Federal High Court in Abuja for permission to travel abroad for medical reasons.
The embattled ex-governor, who is facing charges of laundering ₦80.2 billion filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), also wants the court to release his international passport, one of the conditions of his bail.
His lawyer, Joseph Daudu (SAN), presented the request during proceedings on Friday, June 27.
“He has medical needs to attend to during the period of the vacation. After eight years of not traveling, he needs to attend to certain aspects of his health,” Daudu said.
But EFCC’s lawyer, Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), pushed back. He told the court that the application was “technically incompetent” and amounted to an abuse of court process.
According to him, Bello had already filed a similar request in another court, the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory, where he faces another EFCC case.
Daudu disagreed, insisting the prosecution was the one misusing the court system. “We were served with the counter affidavit yesterday and we, overnight, filed a further affidavit to the complainant’s counter affidavit with two exhibits as well,” he explained.
After hearing both sides, Justice Emeka Nwite adjourned the matter until July 21 to deliver a ruling.
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In a separate part of the proceedings, the fourth prosecution witness, Mshelia Arhyel Bata, clarified that he had not been harassed by Bello’s security personnel, contrary to a claim circulating online.
“My Lord, I wish to clarify the matter raised earlier before the commencement of proceedings. I was not harassed by any of the security details attached to the defendant. I was not harassed at all, and I felt the need to clarify this, my lord,” said Bata, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank.
His testimony directly contradicted a story posted on the EFCC’s website, which claimed he had been harassed.
Daudu praised the witness for his honesty and accused the EFCC of misrepresenting facts. Pinheiro promised to bring the issue to the attention of the appropriate officials at the agency.
On the more pressing matter of Bello’s alleged involvement in financial crimes, Bata told the court that the former governor’s name did not appear in any of the documents presented so far.
“From the document, His Excellency, Alhaji Yahaya Adoza Bello’s name did not feature in any description or as beneficiary in any transaction in the documents before me,” he said.
Bata also confirmed the signatories on various accounts used by the Kogi State Government House and discussed letters that introduced changes to those signatories over time.
Justice Nwite adjourned further trial dates to July 3 and 4 for the continuation of proceedings.