Court Admits Fresh Evidence in N90.4m Fraud Trial Against Ex-NHIS Boss, Prof. Yusuf

The Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Kuchiako, Kuje, Abuja, has admitted additional documents tendered by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in the ongoing trial of former National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS) Executive Secretary, Professor Usman Yusuf, over alleged N90.4 million fraud.
Presiding Judge, Justice Chinyere E. Nwecheonwu, on Wednesday, February 25, 2026, ruled that the documents were admissible in evidence after they were formally presented by the prosecution.
The documents were tendered through the Second Prosecution Witness (PW2), James Balami, Director of Procurement at the NHIS, who had earlier presented them during proceedings on January 5, 2026. Prosecution counsel, Francis Usani, applied orally for their admission.
In her ruling, Justice Nwecheonwu held that the documents were properly submitted in accordance with the law and noted that there was no objection from the defence counsel, O.I. Habeeb, SAN. Consequently, the court admitted and marked the Certified True Copies (CTCs) of several documents, including letters dated November 11, 2016 (marked E1–E32), the NHIS Procurement Plan for 2016 (F1–F4), the NHIS Procurement Plan for 2017 (G1–G5), and the NHIS Procurement Act 2016 (H1–H2).
During his testimony, the witness recounted his interactions with the EFCC following his invitation by the Commission.
“After I took those documents to the Commission, I made statements. The statements were not made in one day. I can recognize the statements. There are five,” he told the court.
However, the prosecution’s attempt to tender the witness’s extra-judicial statements was strongly opposed by the defence counsel. Both sides presented arguments on the admissibility of the statements, after which Justice Nwecheonwu adjourned the matter.
The court fixed May 13 and 14, 2026, for ruling on the admissibility of the disputed statements and for continuation of the trial.
Professor Yusuf is being prosecuted by the EFCC on a five-count charge bordering on alleged embezzlement, conferring undue advantage, and fraud involving the sum of N90,439,178.00 (Ninety Million, Four Hundred and Thirty-Nine Thousand, One Hundred and Seventy-Eight Naira).