Family Of Former NHIS Boss Petitions US Govt Over Detention In Kuje Prison
The family made the request in a separate letters to the American Embassy in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja for consular support and Honourable Senator Richard J. Durbin, which were obtained by SaharaReporters on Friday.
The family of Professor Usman Yusuf, former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), has called on the United States’ government to intervene in his detention.
Yusuf, a dual citizen of Nigeria and the US, was arrested by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on January 29, 2025, and has been incarcerated at the Kuje correctional centre for 16 days.
The family made the request in a separate letters to the American Embassy in Nigeria’s capital, Abuja for consular support and Honourable Senator Richard J. Durbin, which were obtained by SaharaReporters on Friday.
According to his wife, Mrs Iftikar Abdallah Yusuf, in letter to US Embassy, dated 18th February, her husband was taken from their home by armed EFCC agents without an arrest warrant and denied access to his family and lawyers.
She claims that his detention is a result of his vocal criticism of President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies, which have caused widespread hardship in Nigeria.
Mrs. Yusuf expressed concerns about her husband’s health, saying he has been denied access to his doctors.
She has written to the American Embassy in Abuja, requesting consular assistance for her husband’s immediate release, respect of his rights, and a fair hearing.
She said: “He was abducted from our home at 6:30 pm on Wednesday January 29, 2025 by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) and detained for 6 days for alleged criminal misconduct said to have been committed during his tenure as the Executive Secretary and CEO of the Nigerian National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) from August 2016 to July 2019.
“He was arraigned before the high court of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) Kuje on February 3, 2025 and February 12, 2025 but was denied bail and sent to Kuje Prison until February 27, 2025 because the Judge had a bad cold.
“My husband’s constitutionally guaranteed rights have been repeatedly violated by President Bola Tinubu’s government by being forcefully abducted from his home by heavily armed men of the EFCC without a formal invitation to appear before the Commission and abducting him without an arrest warrant, denying him phone calls to his family and Lawyers, denying him bail and incarceration in Kuje Prison.”
She asked the American Embassy to assist in securing his immediate release, respect of his rights and a fair hearing.
“Through his Lawyers, he has denied all the charges brought against him but, as a result of these egregious violations of his rights, I am afraid that he will not receive a fair trial as he is entitled. I am also very concerned for his health as he has not been allowed access to his doctors,” he maintained.
“My husband’s abduction and detention by the EFCC, denial of bail and incarceration in Kuje Prison are nothing but political persecution because he has been a very vocal critic of President Tinubu’s economic policies that have been inflicting unbearable hardships on Nigerians.
“I seek your assistance for his immediate release, respect of his rights and a fair hearing.”
In a separate letter, Professor Yusuf’s three sons, who reside in the US, have appealed to Senator Richard Joseph Durbin (Dick Durbin) for urgent intervention in their father’s case.
Signed by Abdullah Abba Yusuf, Adnan Amin Yusuf and Luqman Ahmad Yusuf, they sought the senator’s help in securing their father’s immediate release, respect of his rights, and a fair hearing.
The children cited a letter their father wrote from the Kuje Correctional Centre.
SaharaReporters reports that Professor Yusuf’s detention has raised concerns about the Nigerian government’s handling of critics of President Tinubu’s administration.
As a vocal critic of the government’s economic policies, Yusuf’s family fears that he will not receive a fair trial.
On February 12, SaharaReporters reported that Professor Usman Yusuf, vowed that he would never be silenced by Tinubu’s dictatorial and autocratic leadership, which is forcefully suppressing any legitimate opposition to his misrule of the fatherland.
Yusuf had stated that he felt the haunting presence of the state stalking him since he started publicly criticising the policies of Tinubu’s government that had been inflicting unbearable hardships on Nigerians.
“I know it to be true that security agents have been physically and electronically tracking my family and I on the orders of this government.”
Yusuf, who expressed his profound gratitude to those who have shown support and concern amidst his current challenges, maintained that his legal team would vigorously defend him against what he described as “baseless recycled falsehoods” the EFCC charged him with, to which he pleaded not guilty to all.
He was appointed as the Executive Secretary of NHIS in 2016 by President Muhammadu Buhari but faced numerous suspensions and investigations during his tenure.
Yusuf’s letter comes after he was arraigned by Nigeria’s anti-graft agency, before Justice Chinyere Nwecheonwu of a Federal Capital Territory (FCT) high court for alleged fraud, specifically for the unauthorised payment of N6.8billion to himself and staff.
