By Kolawole Ojebisi
Former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme, Prof. Usman Yusuf, will spend more days in the custody of the Economic And Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) before knowing his fate in the ongoing trial on fraud bordering on cronyism.
This is as the Federal Capital Territory High Court, Kuje, deferred the arraignment of Yusuf to Monday, February 3, 2025.
Yusuf, who was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission on Wednesday, January 29, 2025, was brought before Justice Chinyere E. Nwecheonwu on Thursday for his scheduled arraignment on allegations of fraud.
However, the court adjourned the case to allow for amendment of charges.
An EFCC statement on Thursday revealed this.
During the brief session, defense counsel, Isah Dokto Haruna, who held brief for lead counsel O.I. Habeeb, SAN, sought bail for the defendant, but the judge declined the request due to the postponed arraignment.
“In the absence of a formal arraignment, bail at this stage is premature,” Justice Nwecheonwu ruled, ordering that Yusuf remain in EFCC custody until his next court appearance.
The case is set to resume on February 3, 2025, when the former NHIS boss will be formally arraigned.
The ex-NHIS boss was arrested by the operatives of the EFCC for allegedly awarding contracts to family members while in office.
Yusuf was also accused of inflating the scheme’s ICT budget from N4.975 billion to N8.7 billion and approving payments beyond his approval limit.
The ex-NHIS boss was reportedly arrested on Wednesday night
The EFCC’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale has since confirmed Yusuf’s arrest.
