Court Permits Yahaya Bello To Travel To Mecca.

 

The Federal High Court in Abuja has approved a request by former Kogi State governor, Yahaya Bello, to travel to Saudi Arabia for the lesser hajj during the Ramadan period.

The ruling was given on Thursday by Justice Emeka Nwite after Bello’s lawyer, Joseph Daudu, SAN, presented an application asking the court to allow the temporary release of his international passports.

The application, dated January 19 and filed on January 20, sought permission for Bello to travel to Mecca to observe the final part of Ramadan in the Holy Land. 

According to the court filing, Ramadan is expected to begin on February 18 and end on March 19.

The lawyer explained that the former governor intended to perform religious duties during the period and later return to Nigeria to continue facing his trial.

Counsel to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, Kemi Pinheiro, SAN, did not raise any objection to the request.

During the court session, Bello was asked to state how long he planned to stay outside the country. 

He told the court that although he wished to remain in Mecca throughout the Ramadan period, he was mindful of the ongoing case against him.

He explained that he had not travelled out of Nigeria in the past eight years and only intended to spend the last 10 days of Ramadan in Mecca to pray.

After listening to both parties, Justice Nwite noted that the prosecution did not oppose the application. 

He then granted approval but limited the trip to 10 days, starting from March 13.

The judge also directed that the matter would continue on January 30, when the trial is expected to resume.