Justice O.A. Egwuatu of the Federal High Court has rejected an application by the Bauchi State Accountant-General, Sirajo Muhammad Jaja, seeking permission to travel to the Saudi Arabia for the Muslim pilgrimage, Hajj, and medical treatment.
Jaja is being prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission alongside Aliyu Abubakar, an alleged unlicensed bureau de change operator, over an amended five-count charge bordering on alleged diversion and laundering of Bauchi State Government funds amounting to N1.635 billion.
The case came up on Tuesday following the conclusion of the cross-examination of the first prosecution witness, Abimbola Williams, a compliance officer with United Bank for Africa, by counsel to the second defendant, Chris Uche.
During proceedings, Uche informed the court of his client’s application seeking temporary release of his international passport to enable him travel to Saudi Arabia for two weeks to perform Hajj and undergo medical check-up.
“Before adjourning, there is an application. The second defendant wants to travel outside for two weeks. It is a temporary application for the release of his passport,” Uche told the court, adding that the defence had received the prosecution’s counter-affidavit but was yet to respond formally.
Responding, prosecution counsel, Abba Muhammed, opposed the request, arguing that the defendant posed a flight risk, particularly as some other parties connected to the matter remained at large.
“The prosecution opposed the application of the second defendant with a 10-paragraph affidavit filed on March 13, 2026. We rely on all the depositions and annexures. We provided cogent reasons and urge the court to reject the application,” Muhammed submitted.
In his ruling, Justice Egwuatu struck out the application and adjourned the matter until June 30, 2026, for continuation of trial.
