The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has issued a notice, declaring the former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and ex-Governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva, wanted over an alleged misappropriation of public funds. This was disclosed in a statement signed by the agency’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, on Monday, November 10, 2025.
According to the statement, EFCC asserted that Sylva converted a sum of $14,859,257, part of the funds released by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB), into Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited for the construction of a Refinery.
The statement reads, “The public is hereby notified that TIMIPRE SYLVA, a former Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, and former Governor of Bayelsa State, whose photograph appears above is wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in an alleged case of Conspiracy and Dishonest Conversion of $14,859,257 – part of funds injected by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) into Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited for the construction of a Refinery.”
It added, “Sylva, 61, is from Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. This notice is pursuant to a November 6, 2025, warrant of the Lagos State High Court.
“Anybody with useful information as to his whereabouts should please contact the Commission in its Ibadan, Uyo, Sokoto, Maiduguri, Benin, Makurdi, Kaduna, Ilorin, Enugu, Kano, Lagos, Gombe, Port Harcourt, or Abuja offices or through 08093322644; its e-mail address:
However, reacting to the statement by EFCC, the erstwhile governor released a statement through his Special Assistant on Media and Public Affairs, Julius Bokoru, on Monday, November 10, 2025, Julius Bokoru, stating that the commission only took to social media to announce, “Quite unceremoniously”, that it had declared the former minister wanted.
“No formal communication was extended to him, no established protocol observed—only a sudden digital proclamation designed, it would seem, to inflame public sentiment and manufacture yet another episode of orchestrated hostility,” Mr. Bokoru stated.
He described it as “curious” that what, he said, was once whispered in corridors as a “coup matter” had now “quietly metamorphosed into a financial allegation.”
He further added, “The same shadowy forces that once sought to criminalize Sylva politically now appear to have reinvented themselves as fiscal crusaders. There must, undoubtedly, be an explanation for this cinematic transition—from rumor to reinvention, from one carefully scripted accusation to another.”
The spokesperson also said Mr. Sylva was the target of a coordinated and calculated political onslaught.
“His recent travails bear an uncanny resemblance to the trials of Job in Holy Scripture—each ordeal arriving with near-mathematical precision, each accusation discredited only for another to appear,” he said, adding, “These are no coincidences; they are deliberate machinations of those who dread Sylva’s enduring political relevance and moral resolve.”
Mr Bokoru disclosed that he has not been in direct contact with his principal. “However, from available information and from prior official briefings, it is important to restate that Chief Sylva will, in line with his respect for lawful institutions and due process, honour the invitation of the EFCC once he concludes his ongoing medical check-up in the United Kingdom.”
He further said: “At this stage, one might jest that only the Boys’ Brigade of Nigeria and the Man’O’War remain uninvited to this theatre of persecution. The desperation to sully Sylva’s name knows no restraint—its sponsors are zealous, its intentions transparent, and its malice unmistakable. Yet, let it be categorically stated: Chief Timipre Sylva has clean hands. He has not diverted a single dollar, nor has he betrayed the trust reposed in him by the Nigerian people. The refinery project in question is a legitimate, transparent, and verifiable undertaking—subject to due process and traceable documentation.
“To our friends, allies, and well-wishers: this, too, shall pass. Truth, though often delayed, remains immutable. It neither bows to propaganda nor perishes in the tumult of falsehood. Those engineering this relentless campaign of defamation will not prevail—for light, by its very nature, must always outshine darkness.”
