The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has arraigned Professor Usman Yusuf, former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), on a five-count amended charge of alleged fraud. The arraignment took place before Justice Chinyere Nwecheonwu at the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Kuje, Abuja.

Professor Yusuf is accused of abusing his office between 2016 and 2017 by awarding contracts without adhering to due procurement processes, thereby conferring undue advantages upon himself. Upon reading the charges, he pleaded not guilty.

Following his plea, defense counsel O.I. Habeeb requested that Professor Yusuf be remanded in EFCC custody pending the hearing of his bail application. However, Justice Nwecheonwu clarified that post-arraignment, the defendant is to be held in a correctional facility. Consequently, she ordered that Professor Yusuf be remanded in the Kuje Correctional Centre until the bail hearing, scheduled for February 12, 2025.

This development follows Professor Yusuf’s arrest by EFCC operatives on January 29, 2025, after a raid on his residence. He was initially slated for arraignment on January 30, but the court deferred the proceedings to February 3.