Former Executive Secretary of the National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), Usman Yusuf, has spoken out against the Federal Government’s treatment of minors involved in the #EndBadGovernance protest.
Speaking in a recent interview on Arise Television, he drew parallels between the treatment of protesters and the mass school abductions by bandits in the North .
Over 2000 protesters, he said, were arrested during the “legitimate right of citizens.”
The ex-NHIS boss added that protesters, including 45 minors, were “blindfolded, transported, and detained” in centers across the North, without their parents knowing their whereabouts.
While noting that they were brought from various cities, including Kano, Kaduna, Jos, and Gombe, to Abuja, Yusuf questioned the alleged crimes of the protesters, which included treason, inciting mutiny, and regime change.
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He criticized the government’s actions, stating that “For us in the North this is clearly reminiscent of days when you have mass school abduction by bandits and we bring them out in this large number.
“Fortunately for us, the kids we saw arraigned by the Minister of Justice to a Federal court – they look much worse than what we always get from bandits. Bandits take care of children better than our government.”
Yusuf wondered why President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a beneficiary of protests and agitation, is now “trying to stifle voices.”
According to him the government’s actions are seen as an attempt to terrorize citizens, particularly children, and “criminalize legitimate protests.”
As the situation unfolds, many are watching to see how the government will respond to these allegations.
