Sylva Demands EFCC Date as $14.8m Probe Deepens

By Yinka Giwa
Former Minister of State for Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva, has asked the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) to fix a definite day for him to appear before investigators over an alleged $14.8 million fraud, insisting he is not on the run.
In a letter dated November 24 and acknowledged by the EFCC on November 26, Sylva said he was undergoing urgent treatment for a “life-threatening medical condition” and was consulting doctors to determine when he could travel. He expressed readiness to cooperate fully and asked the commission to agree on a date he could honour, subject to medical clearance.
The former Bayelsa governor rejected allegations of wrongdoing and warned that the EFCC’s approach “could be misinterpreted as a political witch-hunt.” He recalled that his Abuja home was subjected to an armed operation in which several aides were arrested and have remained in custody. He also noted that he honoured an EFCC invitation in December 2024, after which he was granted administrative bail on self-recognition.
Earlier this month, the EFCC declared Sylva wanted for “conspiracy and dishonest conversion” of $14,859,257 — funds allegedly injected by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board into Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited. The agency said its action was based on a November 6 warrant issued by the Lagos State High Court.
But security sources suggest that the declaration may be tied to a deeper, classified investigation into what they described as a recently disrupted coup plot against the Tinubu administration. “There was a plot, and some senior military officers are already in custody,” one top source said. “The government cannot publicly admit that, because it would shake investor confidence and raise doubts about stability.”
Sylva has been allegedly linked unofficially to financing the said plot. His Maitama residence in Abuja was reportedly searched last week by operatives believed to be from the DSS and the Nigerian Army, while his Bayelsa home was also raided, with a relative identified as Paga allegedly taken away.
Although Defence Headquarters continues to deny any knowledge of a coup plot, multiple insiders say senior officers from the Army, Navy, and Air Force are being held incommunicado at a DIA facility in Abuja.