A FEDERAL Capital Territory (FCT) High Court in Abuja has granted ₦5 million bail with two sureties to the former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Usman Yusuf, a professor facing corruption allegations.
The trial judge, Chinyere Nwecheonwu, gave the ruling on Thursday, February 27.
Multiple charges were filed against the accused by the prosecutor – the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The ICIR reported that Yusuf was arraigned on five counts of corruption, including embezzlement and abuse of office, on Thursday, January 30.
Operatives of the EFCC stormed his Abuja home at about 4:30 p.m. and picked him up for alleged fraud, among other infractions.
His arrest followed an ongoing investigation into allegations that he inflated the NHIA’s ICT budget from N4.975 billion to N8.7 billion and approved payments beyond his approval limit.
Following his arraignment, Yusuf was remanded in the Kuje Correctional Facility while awaiting the court’s ruling on his bail application, which was initially adjourned until February 27.
Arguing the bail, the defence counsel, O.I. Habeeb, a senior advocate, appealed for Yusuf’s release, saying the alleged offences brought against him were bailable.
On his part, the prosecution counsel, Francis Usani, informed the court that Yusuf did not comply with the terms of an administrative bail granted to him by the EFCC to report bi-weekly to its office.
He added that the defendant had bragged about his political connections and would abscond from the trial if granted bail.
Usani said it took the respondent’s (EFCC) officers’ discreet surveillance and high-powered intelligence to apprehend the defendant and bring him to court.
The judge, Nwecheonwu, while ruling on the bail application, declared that the two sureties must furnish the court with proof of means of livelihood and valid identification.
“The sureties must also provide valid means of identification, and their addresses are to be verified by the prosecution or court staff,” the judge stated.
Although the case was initially adjourned until April 3, the date was vacated due to the Sallah break, which falls within that period.
Despite the allegations against him, Yusuf has claimed his arrest was politically motivated.
He accused the government of using security agencies to silence him over his views on national issues.
In a statement, Yusuf described his subsequent arrest by EFCC operatives as a result of a speech at a youth summit in Bauchi, where he criticised the Tinubu administration’s economic policies and alleged marginalisation of Northern Nigeria.
He claimed that security agents trailed him after the summit and took him from his home without warning.
He argued that the EFCC aimed to dehumanise him and tarnish his reputation.
Yusuf, a professor of hematology/oncology and bone marrow transplant, is also being held for financial mismanagement and abuse of office. He allegedly used his position for personal gains, approving contracts without following due process and awarding contracts to firms that lacked the competence to execute projects.
He was appointed as the head of the NHIS (new NHIA) on July 29, 2016. His tenure at the agency was plagued by controversies.
He had several confrontations with the former minister of health, Isaac Adewole, a professor, and the chairperson of the board of the former NHIS, Enyantu Ifenne, who jointly accused him of high-handedness, mismanagement, corruption, and other infractions.
Several petitions were submitted to former President Muhammadu Buhari and the Federal Ministry of Health, alleging misconduct and fraudulent practices against him.
Buhari eventually sacked him in July 2019, ten months after the agency’s governing council suspended him from office.
A reporter with the ICIR
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