Court Allows Yahaya Bello To Travel For Lesser Hajj Amid ₦80.2bn Trial

Justice Emeka Nwite on Thursday ordered the temporary release of Bello’s international passport, which had been deposited with the court, to enable the religious trip.

Bello is standing trial on an ₦80.2bn money laundering charge brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, allegations he has denied.

His counsel, Joseph Daudu (SAN), told the court that the former governor sought permission to travel during Ramadan for supplication, noting that Bello had not visited the Holy Land in over eight years.

The EFCC, through its counsel Kemi Pinheiro (SAN), did not oppose the request but insisted that the trial schedule should remain unchanged.

In his ruling, Justice Nwite granted the application and approved the release of Bello’s passport from March 13, 2026, for a period of 10 days. The case was adjourned to January 30 for the continuation of trial.

At the resumed hearing, the seventh prosecution witness, Olomotane Egoro, an official of Access Bank subpoenaed by the court, testified on cash inflows from Kogi State local government areas into accounts linked to Fazab Business Enterprise and E-Traders International Ltd, adding that multiple cash withdrawals were also made from the accounts.