The Federal High Court in Abuja on Friday granted Bauchi State Commissioner for Finance, Yakubu Adamu, permission to travel to Saudi Arabia for the 2026 Hajj pilgrimage and undergo surgery abroad.
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Justice Emeka Nwite, while delivering ruling in suit number FHC/ABJ/CR/694/2025, also ordered the temporary release of the defendant’s international passport to enable the trip scheduled between May 9 and May 28, 2026.
Adamu is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission alongside Ayab Agro Products and Freight Company Limited over alleged N4.6bn money laundering.
In granting the application, Justice Nwite held that ill-health constituted a special circumstance that could justify the release of a defendant’s travel documents.
“There is no doubt that ill-health can be a special circumstance for the grant of application of this nature,” the judge said.
Justice Nwite further stressed that access to proper healthcare remained a constitutional and humanitarian consideration, regardless of the criminal allegations against an accused person.
“I must make it quite clear that everyone is entitled to be offered access to good medical care, whether he is being tried for a crime or have been tried or simply in detention,” he ruled.
The judge added that authorities responsible for a defendant’s custody or restrictions also had a duty to ensure access to medical treatment.
Citing appellate court authorities, Justice Nwite said the preservation of life must take priority in criminal proceedings.
“It is only the living that can praise God. So, it is only the living that can be tried, convicted, and punished for an offence,” the judge stated.
Following the findings, the court granted all the reliefs sought by the defendant.
“Consequently, I make the following order: I hereby make an order granting leave to the first defendant/applicant to travel on an official duty to coordinate the 2026 Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia and to utilise the opportunity to undergo a pending surgery,” Justice Nwite held.
The court also directed that the passport earlier deposited with the court registry as part of Adamu’s bail conditions be temporarily released to him.
“I hereby make an order permitting the temporary release of the international passport of the first defendant/applicant presently deposited with the registrar of this honourable court to enable him travel to Saudi Arabia from 9th May 2026 to 28th May 2026,” the judge added.
He subsequently directed the defendant to return the passport immediately after returning to Nigeria.
The ruling came months after the same court rejected an earlier application filed by Adamu seeking permission to travel for Hajj and medical treatment.
In the earlier proceedings, the EFCC had opposed the request on grounds that one of the supporting affidavits attached to the application was unsigned and therefore incompetent.
The anti-graft agency also argued that the defendant failed to provide sufficient evidence showing that the proposed surgery could not be performed in Nigeria.
However, in the renewed application, Adamu filed additional documents before the court, including a certified medical document and an appointment slip from Saint Xavier General Hospital in Saudi Arabia.
According to the ruling, the hospital fixed a medical appointment for the defendant with Dr Hossam Motez on May 11, 2026.
The court noted that the fresh materials addressed the concerns raised in the earlier failed application.
Justice Nwite observed that one of the disputed medical papers was merely “a computer-generated cost estimate invoice and treatment plan” and not a medical report requiring signature as alleged by the prosecution.
The judge also held that the appointment slip from the Saudi hospital substantiated the defendant’s medical claims.
Adamu and his company are standing trial over allegations that funds linked to a motorcycle supply contract for the Bauchi State Government were diverted through third-party accounts.
The EFCC alleged that the motorcycles tied to the contract were never supplied.
The defendants, however, pleaded not guilty to the charges.
The court had earlier admitted Adamu to bail in the sum of N500m with two sureties owning landed properties in Maitama, Asokoro or Gwarimpa areas of Abuja.
As part of the bail conditions, he was ordered to deposit his international passport with the court.
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