The FCT High Court has declined a request from former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello to retrieve his international passport for overseas medical travel, citing that it does not have custody of the document.
Justice Maryanne Anenih clarified that the passport had been deposited with the Federal High Court in a separate case, and therefore, her court lacked the authority to act on the request.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) opposed the application, arguing that similar proceedings were already ongoing before the Federal High Court, the court that currently holds the passport.
Given this context, the judge ruled that issuing an order over a document not in the court’s possession would be legally ineffective.
“The court will not issue an order that serves no practical purpose,” she ruled, adding that a document cannot simultaneously be under the jurisdiction of two courts.
The matter was adjourned to October and November for continued hearing.
