Sequel to the argument of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) that Yahaya Adoza Bello, former governor of Kogi state should visit the top-notch hospital he reportedly built in Kogi state for his medicals rather than seek to travel abroad on health grounds as he requested a Federal High Court in Abuja for, a Nigerian lawyer remarked that, ‘bringing such application is an insult to the integrity of our health system.”
Piqued by Bello’s application, Tosin Ojaomo Esq. said: “It is only in Nigeria that this type of application can be granted by a judge. Bringing such an application is an insult to the integrity of our health system. The allegation against the defendant is that he denied the people, including himself, of a decent health care system by converting their commonwealth to his personal use.
“Ordinarily, this type of application ought to be dismissed with punitive costs. Every time this type of issue comes up, I always remember the way the legal system in the UK held on to Senator Ekweremadu, not minding his status or the several appeals from Nigerian authorities.
“The law should be a respecter of no one. That is what the rule of law entails and not rule of law by personality. That is a pure segregational application of the law, which is what is currently plaguing the Nigerian legal corridor.
EFCC had kicked against a fresh application by the embattled former Kogi State Governor.
Bello, in his fresh application, is seeking to travel out of Nigeria for medical treatment amid his ongoing trial over an alleged ₦80.2billion money laundering scandal.
This was announced in a press statement narrating a heated legal battle at the Federal High Court in Maitama, Abuja, on Thursday, June 27, 2025.
The agency told Justice Emeka Nwite that the move by Bello’s legal team was not only a gross abuse of court process but also a veiled attempt to escape justice under the guise of seeking medical care abroad.
Bello’s counsel, Joseph Daudu, SAN, had presented the application to the court, asking for permission for his client to travel overseas on health grounds.
Citing Section 173(2)(a) of the Administration of Criminal Justice Act (ACJA) and the court’s inherent powers, Daudu argued that Bello’s medical needs could not be addressed locally, not even in the multi-billion naira hospital he commissioned during his tenure in Kogi.
The former governor’s application was backed by a 22-paragraph affidavit personally deposed to by Bello, with attached medical reports and a letter from a consultant cardiologist, whose identity or professional credentials the prosecution later questioned.
Daudu said his client had not left Nigeria in over eight years and was now in need of urgent attention.
“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 warned that the ex-governor posed a high flight risk and could face international arrest. “This man is already on a red alert. He risks being picked up overseas and extradited. He could be Hushpuppied out of Dubai,” he warned, referencing the infamous arrest and extradition of Nigerian Instagram celebrity, Hushpuppi, over cybercrime.
Pinheiro also dismissed the medical report submitted by Bello’s team, ridiculing its contents and author.
“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.
He further mocked Bello’s claims of a failing health system, saying, “From Abuja to Lokoja is two hours. He built a world-class hospital in Kogi. Let him use it instead of boarding a six-hour flight to the UK.”
Pinheiro also reminded the court of the nature of the charges facing the former governor, stating that money laundering is a transnational crime. “This matter involves funds traced to foreign accounts in the US and UK, and properties in Dubai. It is international in scope.”
In a final push, Daudu insisted that the application was in line with legal procedure, stating that the EFCC’s red notice had expired since Bello was now within the court’s jurisdiction.
“The sureties do not need to be part of this application,” he maintained, urging the court to act with discretion and allow Bello to attend to his health abroad.
Justice Emeka Nwite is expected to rule on the application at a later adjourned date.
This case is interesting. The lawyer’s point about the integrity of Nigeria’s health system is valid. If Yahaya Bello’s alleged to have embezzled funds meant for healthcare, it’d be ironic if he’s allowed to travel abroad for medicals.