The Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Maitama, Abuja, on Thursday declined the former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello’s application for the release of his passport to enable him to travel to the United Kingdom for medical reasons.
Turning down the request in a ruling, the judge, Maryanne Anenih, ruled that Mr Bello’s passport was not in the court’s custody.
She said the court could not give what it did not have, “therefore the application is void, not just premature but preemptive.”
“There is nothing to indicate that his international passport is before this court. It is not before this court nor the registrar of the court,” she ruled.
Ms Anenih also noted that the court could have considered the submissions of the lawyers if the passport had been before the FCT High Court. She held that the application was rendered incompetent by the passport not being in the court’s possession.
The judge said that the application submitted by Mr Bello was misleading in its assumption that his passport was before the FCT High Court.
She clarified that the bail conditions given to the defendant had required him to submit his passport or an affidavit if it was before another court.
