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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. 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 showed.
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,”. 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 showed 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 indicated. Following the findings, the court granted all the reliefs sought by the defendant.
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Oyetoke Adedayo Ebenezer
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