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A High Court in Abuja has accepted additional documents as evidence in the ongoing trial of former National Health Insurance Scheme boss, Professor Usman Yusuf, over an alleged N90.4 million fraud.
Justice Chinyere Nwecheonwu of the Federal Capital Territory High Court in Kuje gave the ruling on Wednesday, February 25, 2026. The case was brought by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
The new documents were presented earlier by the prosecution’s second witness, James Balami, who is the Director of Procurement at the NHIS. He had submitted the papers during the court sitting on January 5, 2026.
When the matter came up again, the prosecution lawyer, Francis Usani, asked the court to formally accept the documents as evidence.
The judge ruled in favour of the request, saying the process followed the law. She also noted that the defence lawyer, O.I. Habeeb, SAN, did not object to the documents being admitted.
Among the documents accepted by the court were certified true copies of letters dated November 11, 2016. These were marked as Exhibits E1 to E32. The court also admitted copies of the NHIS Procurement Plans for 2016 and 2017, marked as Exhibits F1 to F4 and G1 to G5, respectively.
In addition, a certified copy of the NHIS Procurement Act 2016 was admitted and marked as Exhibits H1 to H2.
While giving evidence, Balami told the court about his interaction with the EFCC after he was invited for questioning.
“After I took those documents to the Commission, I made statements. The statements were not made in one day. I can recognise the statements. There are five,” he said in a statement by EFCC on its X handle.
However, when the prosecution tried to submit the witness’s extra-judicial statements as evidence, the defence lawyer objected. Both sides argued for and against the admissibility of those statements.
After listening to them, Justice Nwecheonwu adjourned the case to May 13 and 14, 2026.
The court will then rule on whether the statements can be accepted as evidence and continue with the trial.
The EFCC is prosecuting Yusuf on a five-count charge. He is accused of embezzlement, abuse of office, and fraud involving N90,439,178.
He has denied any wrongdoing.
