![Former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello [PHOTO CREDIT: Alhaji Yahaya Bello]](https://i0.wp.com/media.premiumtimesng.com/wp-content/files/2024/02/408120362_905290814276680_6076651021365286803_n-e1707257395206.jpg?fit=938%2C677&ssl=1)
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), on Thursday, opposed an application by former Kogi State Governor, Yahaya Bello, seeking the release of his passport to travel abroad for medical treatment amid his ongoing trial for alleged money laundering.
Mr Bello filed the application before trial judge Emeka Nwite of the Federal High Court in Abuja, where he is being prosecuted on N80.2 billion money laundering charges brought against him by the EFCC.
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In a statement posted on Friday on its Facebook page highlighting key developments in the proceedings, EFCC said Mr Bello’s lawyer, Joseph Daudu, urged the court to grant the request, citing his client’s health challenges.
Mr Daudu, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), told the court the motion was filed under Section 173(2)(a) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) and the court’s inherent powers. The application was supported by a 22-paragraph affidavit sworn to by Mr Bello himself, along with annexures including a medical report and a letter from a consultant cardiologist.
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According to Mr Daudu, the former governor had not travelled outside Nigeria in over eight years and urgently required medical attention that, he argued, could not be provided even in the hospital he built while in office.
“The subject of this application is the release of his passport. What is relevant is not whether there are alternative treatments in Nigeria, but whether the defendant is a flight risk,” Mr Daudu submitted.
“He has no criminal record in those countries. The defendant is not a flight risk and will return before the end of August. My lord can even specify a return date.”
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EFCC strongly opposes the application
In response, EFCC’s prosecuting counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, also a SAN, described the application as an abuse of the court process.
He said Mr Bello had filed similar motions before other courts, including this court and the FCT High Court, seeking the same relief.
Mr Pinheiro outlined five reasons the court should dismiss the application. He argued that the motion was procedurally defective because Mr Bello’s sureties were neither notified nor included in the application—raising questions about who would be liable should the defendant abscond.
He also mentioned the international dimension of the case, noting that the charges involve transactions in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Dubai.
“The defendant is already under an international red notice. He risks arrest and extradition. He could be ‘Hushpuppied’ from Dubai,” Mr Pinheiro said, referencing a high-profile cybercrime extradition case.
Questioning the credibility of the medical report, Mr Pinheiro said the doctor who signed it failed to indicate their professional qualifications or specialisation.
He dismissed the health conditions cited—such as low potassium and mild hypertension—as treatable within Nigeria.
“He says he has low potassium; bananas and pawpaw will handle that. This is not a sufficient reason to fly to the UK,” he said.
Mr Pinheiro also pointed to the irony of Mr Bello seeking treatment abroad despite his claim, while in office, of building an ultra-modern hospital in Kogi State.
“From Abuja to Lokoja is two hours. I advise him to visit that hospital rather than take a six-hour flight abroad,” he added.
Defence rebuttal
In a brief reply, Mr Daudu maintained that the sureties were not legally required to be parties to the application and that the red notice had lapsed following Mr Bello’s arraignment in Nigeria.
He urged the court to exercise discretion in favour of the defendant.
After hearing both sides, Mr Nwite adjourned the case to 3 and 4 July, for continuation of the trial and fixed 21 July, for ruling on the medical travel application.
Bank official testifies on alleged suspicious transactions
Meanwhile, during Thursday’s proceedings, the EFCC called its fourth prosecution witness, Mshelia Arhyel, a compliance officer at Zenith Bank Plc, detailed massive cash withdrawals and transfers allegedly made from the Kogi State Government’s account during Mr Bello’s tenure.
Led in evidence by Mr Pinheiro, the witness took the court through bank records already admitted as Exhibits 22 and 22A. These documents included account opening forms, statements, and a certificate of identification covering hundreds of pages.
According to Mr Arhyel, on 30 and 31 January 2018, Mr Bello’s co-defendant, Abdulsalami Hudu, made back-to-back cash withdrawals totalling N697.3 million using multiple cheques. On 1 February 2018, he withdrew N300 million, followed by N99.5 million on 2 February, bringing the total over the four-day period to N1.09 billion.
The witness also identified earlier transactions, such as a N4.55 million transfer on 16 April 2016 to Danihopewell Services Ltd, and multiple N10 million withdrawals by Hudu on 23 May 2016.
On 1 February 2018, the government’s account also transferred over N3 million to Ali Bello, a nephew of the former governor, who currently faces trial in two separate corruption cases before different judges in Abuja.
The pattern reportedly continued into 2022 and 2023, including identical inflows of N100 million from the Kogi State Statutory Revenue Account on 6 and 11 May 2022, followed by immediate withdrawals by Mr Hudu and another beneficiary, Mr Koji. Mr Arhyel testified that such withdrawals triggered Central Bank surcharges for exceeding cash limits, with penalties totalling N4.75 million.
Clarification on the courtroom incident
Addressing an earlier report of alleged harassment, Mr Arhyel clarified that he was not harassed by Mr Bello’s security aides during his previous court appearance.
“I want it on record that the incident happened while I was trying to get a seat. I later got one and have no issue with anyone,” he told the court during cross-examination.
The defence asked for time to study the voluminous Exhibit 22A before commencing cross-examination on Friday.
Prosecution re-examines the third witness
Before Mr Arhyel’s testimony, the court granted the EFCC limited permission to re-examine its third witness, Nicholas Ojehomon, an internal auditor at the American International School, Abuja (AISA).
Mr Ojehomon had earlier testified that over $800,000 in school fees were paid to the school on behalf of Mr Bello’s children.
Although the defence objected to the re-examination, Mr Nwite allowed it, restricting the prosecution to questions based on pages 1, 14, and 15 of Exhibit 19, which were already addressed during cross-examination.
Mr Ojehomon, who began his testimony on 6 March, concluded it on 9 May after cross-examination.
The EFCC’s application to re-examine him had been pending since then.
Multiple fraud cases
In addition to the N80.2 billion money laundering case, Mr Bello is facing related charges in a separate N110 billion fraud case before the FCT High Court in Abuja.
His nephew, Ali Bello, is also on trial in two separate corruption cases before Federal High Court judges in Abuja.
Mr Ali currently serves as Chief of Staff to Kogi State Governor Usman Ododo, Mr Bello’s successor.
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