The anti-graft agency accuses the former Petroleum Minister of conspiracy and dishonest conversion of $14.8 million linked to a refinery project, as aides allege political witch-hunt.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and ex-Bayelsa State Governor, Chief Timipre Sylva, wanted over an alleged conspiracy and dishonest conversion of $14,859,257.
According to a public notice issued by EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale on Monday, the funds were provided by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) for Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited — a project that reportedly never materialized.
Senior EFCC officials disclosed that Sylva has been placed on the watchlists of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Interpol, the UK Metropolitan Police, and Canadian security agencies, among others.
“The case has been on for a long time. The former minister was visiting our office until he later stopped. Now that we have declared him wanted, he has also been placed on the watchlists of the FBI, Interpol, and other security agencies,” an EFCC source said.
Oyewale confirmed that the commission obtained a Federal High Court arrest warrant on November 6, 2025, issued by Justice D.I. Dipeolu in Lagos. The order mandates security operatives to arrest Sylva and bring him before the EFCC to face charges.
Link to Ongoing $35 Million NCDMB Probe
The development follows the House of Representatives’ resolution 27 days earlier to investigate the alleged mismanagement of a $35 million NCDMB investment in a modular refinery project that never took off in the Niger Delta.
The motion, moved by Hon. Billy Osawaru, questioned why Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited remains non-existent despite the multimillion-dollar investment made over five years ago.
Lawmakers directed the Committees on Midstream, Downstream, and Legislative Compliance to investigate and submit their findings within four weeks.
Sylva’s Camp Cries Foul
Reacting to the EFCC declaration, Julius Bokoru, Sylva’s Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, dismissed the allegations as “politically motivated”, accusing the commission of failing to follow due process.
“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 hostility,” Bokoru said.
He questioned the timing and consistency of the allegations, pointing out that Sylva’s Abuja residence was raided by the military on October 25 over an alleged coup attempt, which has now “quietly metamorphosed into a financial allegation.”
“Chief Timipre Sylva remains the target of a coordinated political onslaught. Each accusation is discredited only for another to appear,” he added.
Bokoru maintained that Sylva, who is currently on a medical trip in the United Kingdom, remains law-abiding and would honour the EFCC invitation upon his return.
“The desperation to sully Sylva’s name knows no restraint. Yet, let it be categorically stated: Chief Timipre Sylva has clean hands. He has not diverted a single dollar, nor betrayed the trust reposed in him by the Nigerian people,” Bokoru stated.
Sylva, a prominent All Progressives Congress (APC) figure and influential voice from Bayelsa State, has faced several political and legal controversies in recent years, but his aides insist this latest episode is part of a “wider campaign to diminish his political relevance.”
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