Sylva Alleges Political Witch-Hunt After EFCC Declares Him Wanted

Former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and ex-Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva, has accused political rivals of orchestrating what he described as a “relentless theatre of persecution,” following his recent declaration as wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).

In a statement released by his spokesperson, Julius Bokoru, Sylva condemned the EFCC’s move as politically motivated and procedurally irregular, alleging that the anti-graft agency made the public announcement without prior notification or due process.

> “His recent travails resemble the trials of Job in the Holy Scriptures, each accusation arriving with mathematical precision, only to be discredited before another emerges,” Bokoru stated.
“These are no coincidences but deliberate acts engineered by those who fear Sylva’s political relevance and moral strength.”

According to the statement, the EFCC did not issue any formal communication to Sylva before declaring him wanted, a move his camp claims was designed to “inflame public sentiment” and “manufacture yet another episode of hostility.”

Sylva denied any wrongdoing, insisting that he had not diverted public funds and that the refinery project under probe, Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited, was a lawful and transparent enterprise.

> “Chief Timipre Sylva has clean hands. He has not misappropriated a single dollar or betrayed the trust of Nigerians. The refinery project is legitimate, traceable, and compliant with due process,” the statement emphasized.


The EFCC, however, maintains that Sylva and others are wanted for alleged conspiracy and dishonest conversion of $14,859,257, funds purportedly invested by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) in the refinery project.

A warrant for Sylva’s arrest was issued on November 6, 2025, by Justice D.I. Dipeolu of the Federal High Court, Lagos. The Commission urged anyone with information on Sylva’s whereabouts to contact its offices, the police, or other security agencies.

Meanwhile, at the Federal High Court in Abuja, the EFCC’s fourth witness in a separate case involving former Kogi State Governor Yahaya Bello testified that withdrawals made by the state government did not breach any banking regulations.

During cross-examination before Justice Emeka Nwite, Mshelia Arhyel Bata, a compliance officer at Zenith Bank, confirmed that Sylva’s name did not appear as a beneficiary in any of the accounts presented as evidence. Defence counsel Joseph Daudu (SAN) noted that certain transactions by Umar Comfort Olufunke were omitted from the prosecution’s submission.

The witness also verified that withdrawals made by Alhassan Omakoji between November 2021 and December 2022 were within the Central Bank of Nigeria’s transaction limits and stated there was no specific law restricting how a state government spends its funds.

After the testimony, the prosecution led by Kemi Pinheiro (SAN) declined further questioning, and the witness was discharged. Justice Nwite then adjourned the trial to November 11 for continuation.