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 related to alleged fraud.
Yusuf was brought before Justice Chinyere Nwecheonwu of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Kuje, Abuja, where he pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Defense counsel, O.I. Habeeb, requested that his client be remanded in EFCC custody pending the hearing of his bail application. However, Justice Nwecheonwu clarified that once the defendant was arraigned, he was no longer under EFCC custody.
The judge adjourned the case to February 12, 2025, and ordered Yusuf’s remand at the Kuje Correctional Centre in Abuja until the bail application hearing.
Yusuf is accused of using his position to grant himself undue advantages between 2016 and 2017, as well as awarding contracts without following the proper procurement process.