The media aide to former Bayelsa State Governor, Chief Timipre Sylva, Julius Bokoru, has reacted to the notice declaring his principal wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Bokoru said the former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources would honour the EFCC invitation once he completes his ongoing medical check-up in the United Kingdom.
The EFCC had, on Monday, declared Sylva wanted over alleged conspiracy and dishonest conversion of $14,859,257.
According to the anti-graft agency, the funds were linked to a transaction involving the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) and Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited.
Reacting through a statement, Bokoru faulted the EFCC’s approach, accusing the agency of bypassing standard procedure.
“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,” he stated.
He further clarified that Sylva remains committed to due process and will cooperate with the EFCC once his health checks are completed.
“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,” Bokoru said.
POLITICS NIGERIA reports that the EFCC obtained a warrant for Sylva’s arrest from the Federal High Court in Lagos on November 6, 2025.
This followed weeks of speculation after soldiers reportedly stormed the ex-minister’s residence in Abuja over alleged links to a coup plot being investigated by the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA).
The raid, said to have taken place in the early hours of October 25, 2025, was allegedly based on intelligence reports claiming Sylva had been meeting with detained military officers accused of plotting to overthrow President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
Bokoru dismissed the claims, insisting the development was part of a wider attempt to tarnish the former governor’s reputation.
“These are no coincidences; they are the deliberate machinations of those who dread Sylva’s enduring political relevance and moral resolve,” he said.
He also questioned the sudden shift from alleged coup links to financial allegations. “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,” Bokoru added.
