Usman Yusuf has accused President Tinubu of attempts to destroy democracy in Nigeria.
NewsOnline Nigeriareports that Former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Usman Yusuf, has accused President Bola Tinubu’s administration of orchestrating efforts to suppress opposition voices and critics.
Speaking during an interview on Arise TV on Sunday, Yusuf claimed that his recent detention was part of a deliberate plan to intimidate him and others who stand against government actions.
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This Nigeria news platform recalls that earlier in February, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned Yusuf on charges of alleged fraud. He pleaded not guilty to a five-count charge before Justice Chinyere Nwecheonwu of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court.
Reflecting on his time in custody, Yusuf described his experience in Kuje Correctional Centre as a moment of deep reflection and spiritual renewal.
He said, “On the 29th of January this year, at about 6:30 PM, my wife came up to my room and said there were some gentlemen who knocked and just walked into the house. They walked in through the door and said they wanted to see me, claiming I was expecting them.
“They said they were from the EFCC and had come to take me. I said, ‘guys, you haven’t even introduced yourselves.’ They quickly brought out their badges and confirmed they were from the EFCC.”
The former NHIS boss recounted how the operatives barred him from changing his clothes and prevented his wife from providing him with a change of clothing.
He added that he was squeezed between two officers in a bus — an armed agent and a younger operative who, according to him, celebrated his capture as though he were “a notorious criminal like Kachalla Bello Turji.”
After spending six days at the EFCC facility, Yusuf said he was arraigned in court but denied bail because the presiding judge had a cold. Consequently, he spent an additional 24 days at Kuje prison.
“The denial of bail was wrong,” Yusuf stressed.
“Bail is a constitutionally guaranteed right for any accused person, except in cases of capital offences or terrorism, and my case was neither.
“This government deliberately denied me bail to shake me up. I spent six days at the EFCC and 24 days in Kuje prison — all to try and silence me. But I am not someone who can be silenced.
“The whole purpose was the government of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu trying to silence any form of dissent.
“This is coming from a president who himself was once a NADECO activist — someone who fought against the military, who ran across the border, and fled to safety,” he stated.
Yusuf criticised the government’s current attitude towards free speech, warning that democracy is under threat.
He added, “Criticising a government in a democracy is the legitimate right of every citizen. But now, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is trying to stifle dissent and turn Nigeria into a one-party dictatorial state. We are not going to let that happen.”
Appointed by former President Muhammadu Buhari in 2016, Yusuf’s tenure as NHIS boss was marked by controversy.
He was suspended in 2017 by the then-Minister of Health, followed by another suspension in 2018 by the NHIS board over allegations of corruption. Yusuf was eventually dismissed from his position in 2019.
