Court grants Yahaya Bello’s request to attend 2026 lesser Hajj

A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, has granted permission 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 in the custody of the court, to enable him undertake the religious exercise.

Bello is currently standing trial before the court over alleged misappropriation of funds in a case instituted against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission.

The EFCC is prosecuting the former governor over alleged money laundering to the tune of N80.2bn, allegations which Bello denied when he was arraigned before the court.

The former governor, in an application dated January 20, and supported by a 24-paragraph affidavit deposed to by himself, sought the court’s permission to travel to Saudi Arabia for supplication.

Moving the application, his lead counsel, Joseph Daudu, SAN, told the court that the request was to enable the defendant travel to the Holy Land during the month of Ramadan to observe the lesser Hajj.

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Daudu informed the court that Bello had not visited the Holy Land in over eight years, adding that there was a need for him to go and pray to God to deliver him from the charges brought against him by the EFCC.

Responding, the lead prosecution counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, said the prosecution would not oppose the request for the defendant to travel for the lesser Hajj, but stressed that it would not concede any of the trial dates already fixed by the court.

In a short ruling, Justice Nwite granted the application for the release of Bello’s international passport, which was deposited with the Registrar of the court.

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 till Friday, January 30th, for the continuation of the examination of the seventh prosecution witness.

Earlier in his testimony, PW7, Olomotane Egoro, a subpoenaed official of Access Bank, told the court of cash inflows from local government areas of Kogi State into the accounts of Fazab Business Enterprise and E-Traders International Ltd.

Egoro also told the court that several cash withdrawals were made from the accounts.