- He was arrested and driven away to ‘unknown destination’ – Family sources
Gun-wielding operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Wednesday evening raided the Abuja residence of a former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Professor Usman Yusuf, for yet-to-be disclosed reasons.
He is currently cooling his feet in the Commission’s custody having been picked up by the operatives and ferried away to what reliable sources claimed as an ‘unknown destination’.
The sources confirmed that the Professor of haematology-oncology and bone marrow transplantation was arrested on Wednesday at about 4.45 pm in the presence of his wife, children, and some other relatives in s surprised invasion of his home.
According to the sources, armed and stern-looking, the EFCC operatives stormed the residence without any warning to ferry away Yusuf who, in recent times, has become one of the fiercest critics of the President Bola Tinubu-led All Progressives Congress (APC) administration.
The sources further hinted that with Yusuf’s alleged offence yet-to-be-revealed by the anti-corruption agency, offence, the operatives refused to entertain any engagement with his family with the team-leader reported claiming that they have ‘orders from above’ to carry out the assignment.
An insider said despite details of Yusuf’s arrest not being made public yet by the EFCC, given the frequency of his scathing comments against the current administration and the State-of-the-nation, his current travails might be a way of reining him in for now.
For the insider, the arrest might not be unconnected with Yusuf’s activities as a one-time Executive Secretary of NHIS when his tenure was quite turbulent with a fact-finding panel of the Federal Ministry of Health finding him guilty of alleged sleaze and mismanagement of public funds.
With the anti-graft Commission still preferring to keep mute about the development in what our sources described as “testing the waters”, a competent source volunteered thus; “The reason for his arrest can’t be made public now because investigations are still ongoing.
“What I know is that he is currently in custody and he will help the detectives in their investigations. When the Commission is ready to officially go public on the matter, Nigerians would be appropriately informed”.
Recalled that former President Muhammadu Buhari, on the strength of a petition investigated by the Federal Ministry of Health’s fact-finding panel, relieved Yusuf of his appointment in 2019 over misconduct and fraudulent practices involving the alleged mismanagement of N919 million.
Meanwhile, the Head of Media and Publicity for the EFCC, Dele Oyewale, has confirmed the development, with the hints that the former NHIS boss will be arraigned in court on Thursday, 30th January 2025 with his alleged offences would be officially made public.
