A Federal High Court in Abuja has granted approval to a former Governor of Kogi State, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, to travel to Saudi Arabia to perform the 2026 lesser Hajj.
Justice Emeka Nwite, on Thursday, ordered the temporary release of Bello’s international passport, which had been deposited with the court, to enable him undertake the religious obligation.
Bello is currently facing trial before the court over alleged misappropriation of funds in a case instituted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.
The EFCC is prosecuting the former governor over alleged money laundering amounting to N80.2bn, an allegation he denied when he was arraigned.
In an application dated January 20 and supported by a 24-paragraph affidavit deposed to by Bello himself, the former governor sought the court’s permission to travel to Saudi Arabia for supplication.
Moving the application, his lead counsel, Joseph Daudu, SAN, informed the court that the request was to enable his client travel to the Holy Land during the month of Ramadan to observe the lesser Hajj.
Daudu told the court that Bello had not visited the Holy Land in over eight years, adding that there was a need for him to pray for divine intervention over the charges brought against him by the EFCC.
Responding, the lead prosecution counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, said the prosecution did not oppose the defendant’s request to travel for the lesser Hajj but insisted that all previously fixed trial dates must be maintained.
In a brief ruling, Justice Nwite granted the application for the temporary release of Bello’s international passport, which had been kept in the custody of the court’s Registrar.
According to the judge, “I have listened to the submissions of counsel in this matter and am minded to grant the application”.
Consequently, the court approved the release of the passport from March 13, 2026, for a period of 10 days and adjourned proceedings until Friday, January 30, for the continuation of the examination of the seventh prosecution witness.
Earlier in his testimony, the seventh prosecution witness, Olomotane Egoro, a subpoenaed official of Access Bank, told the court that funds from several local government areas in Kogi State were paid into the accounts of Fazab Business Enterprise and E-Traders International Ltd.
Egoro further testified that multiple cash withdrawals were made from the accounts during the period under review.
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