ABUJA, Nigeria — Julius Bokoru, special assistant on media and public affairs to Timipre Sylva, former minister of state for petroleum resources, has described the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission’s (EFCC) declaration of his principal as wanted as part of a politically motivated campaign.
On Monday, November 10, 2025, the EFCC announced that Sylva, a former Bayelsa State governor, was wanted for alleged conspiracy and dishonest conversion of $14.8 million — funds reportedly invested by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) in Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited.
The commission urged anyone with useful information on Sylva’s whereabouts to contact any of its offices or the nearest police station.
Reacting in a statement, Bokoru accused the EFCC of violating procedure and acting in bad faith, describing the announcement as a “digital proclamation” aimed at inflaming public sentiment.
“It is, to say the least, curious that what was once whispered in corridors as a coup matter has now quietly metamorphosed into a financial allegation,” the statement read.
“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.”
Bokoru alleged that “shadowy forces” opposed to Sylva’s political relevance were behind the development.
“The same shadowy forces that once sought to criminalise Sylva politically now appear to have reinvented themselves as fiscal crusaders,” he said.
Bokoru insisted that Sylva’s record in public office was clean and transparent, dismissing the EFCC’s allegations as baseless.
“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,” Bokoru said.
“The refinery project in question is a legitimate, transparent, and verifiable undertaking—subject to due process and traceable documentation.”
He confirmed that Sylva is currently receiving medical treatment in the United Kingdom and would honour the EFCC’s invitation upon his return.
“He will, as always, respect lawful institutions. Truth, though often delayed, remains immutable,” he added.
The development follows last month’s military raid on Sylva’s residences in Abuja and Bayelsa, during which soldiers reportedly arrested his brother amid allegations linking the former minister to a failed plot to overthrow the Tinubu administration.
Bokoru at the time also dismissed that incident as a politically motivated attack, accusing unnamed interests of attempting to “diminish” Sylva’s reputation and influence.
