The wife and sons of former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), Prof Usman Yusuf, have formally appealed to the United States Government for diplomatic intervention to secure his release from detention......CONTINUE READING THE ARTICLE FROM THE SOURCE>>>>>
In a letter dated February 18, 2025, Iftikar Abdallah Yusuf, the wife of Prof Yusuf, addressed the American Embassy under the title: “Re: Request For Consular Assistance For My Husband Professor Usman Yusuf.”
Similarly, the couple’s three sons, Abdullah, Adnan, and Luqman, wrote to Senator Richard J. Durbin of Chicago, Illinois, USA, seeking urgent intervention under the title: “Re: Request for the Immediate Release of Our Father, Prof Usman Yusuf.”
Allegations Against Prof Yusuf
Prof Yusuf is currently facing a five-count charge filed by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), accusing him of embezzlement and conferring undue advantage on himself during his tenure at NHIA between 2016 and 2019. The EFCC alleges that he approved the purchase of a vehicle for ₦49,197,750, exceeding the budgeted ₦30 million.
He has pleaded not guilty to all charges.
On February 12, 2025, Justice Chinyere Nwecheonwu postponed the ruling on his bail application to February 27 and remanded him in Kuje Correctional Facility in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) pending the court’s decision.
Family’s Appeal for Consular Assistance
In her letter, Iftikar Abdallah Yusuf urged the US Embassy to intervene in securing her husband’s release and ensuring his rights are respected.
She emphasized that their family holds dual citizenship in the United States and Nigeria and argued that her husband is being unlawfully detained and subjected to political persecution.
“My husband’s constitutionally guaranteed rights have been repeatedly violated by President Bola Tinubu’s government by being forcefully abducted from his home by heavily armed men of the EFCC without a formal invitation to appear before the commission and abducting him without an arrest warrant, denying him phone calls to his family and lawyers, denying him bail and incarceration in Kuje Prison,” she wrote.
She further expressed concern for his health, stating that he has not been granted access to his doctors and warning that he might not receive a fair trial.
Children’s Letter Echoes Political Persecution Claims
In their letter to Senator Durbin, Prof Yusuf’s sons reiterated their concerns, describing their father’s detention as a targeted attack for his vocal criticism of President Bola Tinubu’s economic policies.
“Our father’s abduction and detention by the EFCC, denial of bail and incarceration in Kuje Prison are nothing but political persecution because he has been a very vocal critic of President Tinubu’s economic policies that have been inflicting unbearable hardships on Nigerians,” they stated.
Naija News reports that the court has fixed February 27th for ruling on his bail application.