The Federal High Court in Abuja has granted former Kogi State Governor, Alhaji Yahaya Bello, permission to travel to Saudi Arabia for the 2026 lesser Hajj, even while he faces trial for alleged corruption.
On Thursday, Justice Emeka Nwite ordered the temporary release of Bello’s international passport, which had been held by the court, allowing him to undertake this religious pilgrimage.
Bello is currently on trial for alleged misappropriation of funds in a case brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The EFCC is prosecuting the former governor for alleged money laundering amounting to N80.2 billion, claims which Bello has denied since his arraignment.
The travel approval followed an application dated January 20, supported by a 24-paragraph affidavit filed by Bello himself, seeking the court’s permission to journey to the Holy Land for prayer.
While presenting the application, Bello’s lead counsel, Joseph Daudu, SAN, informed the court that the request was aimed at enabling the defendant to visit the Holy Land during Ramadan for the lesser Hajj.
Daudu highlighted that Bello had not been to the Holy Land in over eight years and expressed the need for him to pray for divine intervention regarding the charges leveled against him by the EFCC.
In response, the lead prosecution counsel, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, stated that the prosecution would not oppose the request for the defendant to travel for the lesser Hajj but emphasized that it would not concede any of the trial dates already set by the court.
In a brief ruling, Justice Nwite approved the application for the release of Bello’s international passport, which had been submitted to the court registrar.
According to the judge, “I have listened to the submissions of counsel in this matter and am minded to grant the application.”
The court authorized the passport’s release from March 13, 2026, for a duration of 10 days.
Proceedings were adjourned until Friday, January 30, for the continuation of examining the seventh prosecution witness.
Earlier, the seventh prosecution witness, Olomotane Egoro, a subpoenaed official from Access Bank, testified about cash inflows from local government areas in Kogi State into the accounts of Fazab Business Enterprise and E-Traders International Ltd.
Egoro also revealed that numerous cash withdrawals were made from those accounts.
Bello’s temporary release for religious purposes has drawn criticism amid ongoing high-profile corruption trials in the country.
