The Northern Elders Forum (NEF) on Thursday strongly condemned the arrest and detention of Professor Usman Yusuf, the former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Authority (NHIA), calling it a politically motivated attempt to silence opposition voices.
The arrest, carried out by operatives of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on January 29, 2025, at Yusuf’s Abuja residence, has sparked outrage, particularly in northern political circles.
He was subsequently arraigned before a Federal High Court in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) on January 30, 2025.
Justice Chinyere Nwecheonwu of the FCT High Court in Kuje declined Yusuf’s bail request, ruling that the EFCC needed to amend its charges before the main arraignment could proceed. As a result, the court ordered Yusuf’s remand and adjourned the case until February 3, 2025.
In a strongly worded statement, NEF spokesperson, Professor Abubakar Jika Jiddere, decried the arrest as a thinly veiled attack on opposition voices, warning that it signals a dangerous slide toward authoritarianism.
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“The Northern Elders Forum received the news of the arbitrary arrest of Professor Usman Yusuf with great concern,” the statement read. “He is a distinguished personality with high-level credibility and unquestionable integrity.”
Jiddere went further, calling Yusuf’s detention a calculated move to intimidate and muzzle political opposition.
“This is not about justice. 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,” he stated.
Professor Yusuf, known for his outspoken views on governance and northern interests, has often clashed with the establishment. His arrest has reignited concerns about the weaponization of anti-corruption agencies to target political adversaries.
The NEF has demanded his immediate release, stressing that a democracy should protect, not punish, dissenting voices.
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