Former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, has filed an application seeking the permission of a federal high court in Abuja to travel to the United Kingdom (UK) for medical reasons.
Yahaya Bello is being tried for a 19-count charge of alleged money laundering / fraud amounting to N80.2 billion of Kogi State funds.
At the resumed court session on Friday, Joseph Daudu, counsel to Bello, moved the application dated June 20.
Addressing the court, Daudu said the former governor was referred to a hospital in the United Kingdom (UK) by a cardiologist, noting that Bello has not travelled outside Nigeria throughout his eight-year tenure in Kogi.
The lawyer said Bello has pledged to travel within the court’s vacation period and return to the country for the continuation of his trial.
“My lord, this is a harmless and non-political issue that borders on the health of the defendant who is ready and willing to face his trial,” he said.
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“He has never been late to court. The little misunderstanding that happened before this trial began was politically motivated. If permitted to travel, he will return before the end of August, and the court can also set a date.
“This is a criminal trial, not a political witch-hunt.”
However, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) opposed the application, describing it as an abuse of court process.
Kemi Pinheiro, prosecution counsel, said the defendant cited hypertension and hypercalcemia or low potassium but failed to provide evidence that the condition was life-threatening.
The prosecution argued that there are well-equipped hospitals in the country that could effectively treat the ailments.
The EFCC counsel told the court that Bello claimed that he built ultra-modern hospitals with state-of-the-art facilities in Kogi state while he was the governor.
“This defendant insisted that the hospitals were built to curb medical tourism,” Pinhero said.
The EFCC lawyer told the court that Bello is facing serious allegations that have international dimensions, noting that he could be arrested by Interpol outside the shores of Nigeria.
“This defendant is already on the red notice. The EFCC sent a letter to Interpol when he was playing games with the prosecution, and he was placed on the red list,” he added.
“He doesn’t know what is awaiting him there. He can be Hushpuppied to the US or UAE. That is a risk because it will affect this trial.”
He noted that the former governor filed the same application before a federal capital territory (FCT) high court where he is facing another charge.
Emeka Nwite, the presiding judge, fixed July 27 to rule on the application.
Meanwhile, earlier at the court session, a mild drama unfolded when the fourth prosecution witness, Mshelia Bata, a compliance officer with Zenith Bank, denied claims that he was harassed by security personnel attached to Bello.
Pinhero had informed the court shortly after the case was called, alleging that the witness had been confronted by one of the security operatives attached to the defendant.
“My lord, the witness told me that this is not the first time. A situation where a witness is harassed in a criminal case amounts to interference,” Pinheiro told the court, urging an investigation into the incident.
In response, Daudu assured the court that the defence team would look into the matter and report back.
However, before the matter was adjourned, the witness sought the court’s permission to speak and clarified that he had not been harassed.
“My lord, I want to put it on record that no one harassed or intimidated me. I only had a minor altercation with someone which had nothing to do with the defendant,” Bata told the court.
