Friday, January 31, 2025 - The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) has condemned the arrest and detention of Professor Usman Yusuf, former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), describing it as a politically motivated move aimed at silencing opposition voices.
Yusuf was arrested at his Abuja residence on January 29, 2025, by
operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC). He was
subsequently arraigned before a Federal High Court in the FCT on January 30,
2025.
Justice Chinyere Nwecheonwu of the FCT High Court in Kuje declined
Yusuf’s bail request, ruling that the main arraignment had to be postponed to
allow the EFCC to amend its charges. The court ordered Yusuf’s remand and
adjourned the case until February 3, 2025.
Reacting to the development, in a statement, NEF spokesperson, Professor
Abubakar Jika Jiddere described the arrest as a deliberate attempt to suppress
dissenting voices critical of the government’s policies.
“The Northern Elders Forum received the news of the arbitrary arrest of
Professor Usman Yusuf with great concern. He is a distinguished personality
with high-level credibility and unquestionable integrity,” the statement read.
The NEF insisted that Yusuf’s arrest was a calculated move to intimidate
opposition figures and erode Nigeria’s democratic gains.
“It is a deliberate plan to silence and intimidate political opposition
and reverse the democratic rights won by Nigerians through years of struggle
against dictatorship and oppression,” Jiddere stated.
The forum demanded Yusuf’s immediate release, emphasizing that
dissenting voices should be protected, not suppressed in a democracy.
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