Tinubu Tried to Silence Me Using EFCC, Treated Me Like a Criminal – Ex-NHIS Boss Usman Yusuf

Former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Professor Usman Yusuf, has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of using the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to intimidate and silence him for speaking out against the government.

In an interview with Arise Television on Sunday, Yusuf alleged that his recent detention by the EFCC was a calculated move to suppress his voice. “This government deliberately denied me bail to shake me up, to try and silence me. But I am not someone who can be silenced,” he said.

Yusuf was arraigned in February before the Federal Capital Territory High Court on a five-count charge of alleged fraud, to which he pleaded not guilty. Recounting the circumstances of his arrest, he said EFCC operatives stormed his home on January 29 without presenting an arrest warrant. According to him, they entered his residence under the pretext that he was expecting them, only later showing their identification badges. He described how he was prevented from changing his clothes, and how his wife was stopped from giving him alternative clothing. Yusuf said he was treated as if he were “a notorious criminal like Kachalla Bello Turji,” a well-known bandit leader.

Yusuf spent six days in EFCC custody before his arraignment and was subsequently denied bail, a move he described as unconstitutional. He stressed that bail is a constitutional right, except in cases of capital offences or terrorism, neither of which applied to him. As a result, he spent an additional 24 days at Kuje Prison, an experience he described as a period of “retreat for rest, prayers, and reflection,” insisting it only strengthened his resolve.

He accused President Tinubu’s government of attempting to silence dissent and warned that Nigeria risks sliding into a one-party dictatorial state. “This is coming from a president who himself was once a NADECO activist, someone who fought against military dictatorship,” Yusuf said.

Professor Yusuf was appointed executive secretary of the NHIS in 2016 by former President Muhammadu Buhari. He was suspended twice between 2017 and 2018 over allegations of corruption and was ultimately removed from office in 2019.