A former governor of Kogi State, Yahaya Bello, has been granted permission by the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja to travel to Saudi Arabia to perform the 2026 lesser Hajj. The application for permission to travel was personally deposed to by Bello and moved by his lead counsel, Joseph Daudu, SAN. Counsel told the court that the request was to enable the defendant travel to the Holy Land to observe the lesser Hajj during the month of Ramadan. The court subsequently adjourned the matter until Friday, January 30, for the continuation of the examination of the seventh prosecution witness. The EFCC is prosecuting Bello over alleged money laundering amounting to N80.2 billion, allegations which the former governor denied when he was arraigned before the court.