THE Federal High Court in Abuja has granted former Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, permission to travel to Saudi Arabia to perform the 2026 lesser Hajj.
In his ruling, Justice Emeka Nwite ordered the temporary release of Bello’s international passport, which has been in the custody of the court.
Bello is currently facing trial over alleged misappropriation of public funds in a case brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The request was personally sworn to by the former governor and moved by his lead counsel, Joseph Daudu, SAN, who told the court that the application was made to enable his client observe the lesser Hajj during the month of Ramadan.
Daudu added that Bello had not undertaken the pilgrimage in over eight years and wished to do so to pray for divine intervention concerning the charges against him.
The prosecution, led by Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, did not oppose the application but maintained that the trial dates already fixed by the court should remain unchanged.
In a brief ruling, Justice Nwite granted the request and approved the release of Bello’s passport from March 13, 2026, for a period of 10 days.
The court subsequently adjourned the case to Friday, January 30, for the continuation of the examination of the seventh prosecution witness.
Earlier, the witness, Olomotane Egoro, an official of Access Bank subpoenaed by the court, testified about cash inflows from local government areas in Kogi State into the accounts of Fazab Business Enterprise and E-Traders International Ltd, as well as multiple cash withdrawals from the accounts.
The EFCC is prosecuting Bello over alleged money laundering amounting to ₦80.2 billion, allegations which the former governor has denied.
