Ex-NHIS boss Usman Yusuf arraigned over alleged fraud, remanded in Kuje prison

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned Usman Yusuf, the former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), on a five-count amended charge bordering on fraud.

Yusuf appeared before Justice Chinyere Nwecheonwu at the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Kuje, Abuja, where he pleaded not guilty to the charges.

His counsel, O.I. Habeeb, requested that he remain in EFCC custody pending the hearing of his bail application. However, Justice Nwecheonwu ruled that once a defendant is arraigned, they are no longer under EFCC custody.

She adjourned the case to February 12, 2025, for the bail hearing and ordered that Yusuf be remanded in Kuje Correctional Centre until then.

The former NHIS boss is accused of abusing his office between 2016 and 2017 by awarding contracts without due process and using his position to gain undue advantages.