FBI, Interpol join EFCC in search for ex-Petroleum Minister Timipre Sylva

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has intensified its investigation into former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, declaring him wanted over alleged financial misconduct and seeking support from international law enforcement agencies.

In a statement released on Monday by EFCC spokesperson Dele Oyewale, Sylva is accused of conspiracy and dishonest conversion of $14,859,257, reportedly provided by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) for Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited.

Senior EFCC officials confirmed to News Point Nigeria that Sylva’s name has been placed on the watchlists of the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Interpol, the UK Metropolitan Police, and security agencies in Canada, among others.

“He was visiting the Commission before, but he later stopped. The case has been on for a long time,” an EFCC source revealed.

The Commission also disclosed that it obtained an arrest warrant for Sylva on November 6, 2025, from the Federal High Court in Lagos. Justice D.I. Dipeolu directed law enforcement officers to arrest the former minister and bring him in for questioning over the alleged offence.

This comes just weeks after the House of Representatives opened an investigation into the alleged disappearance of $35 million earmarked for a modular refinery project in the Niger Delta. Despite substantial funding and a five-year timeline, the project was said to be non-existent.

Lawmakers accused the NCDMB of failing to provide any verifiable evidence of the refinery’s existence, prompting a probe by the committees on Midstream, Downstream, and Legislative Compliance.

Sylva, a former Bayelsa State governor and All Progressives Congress (APC) chieftain, had earlier made headlines when military officers raided his Abuja home on October 25 over alleged coup links.

His brother and driver were arrested, though he was reportedly abroad at the time.

Reacting to the EFCC declaration, Sylva’s media aide, Julius Bokoru, dismissed the development as politically motivated and “procedurally flawed.”

“No formal communication was extended to him, only a sudden digital proclamation designed to inflame public sentiment,” Bokoru stated.

He argued that the narrative against his principal had shifted from alleged coup plotting to financial misconduct, calling it part of a larger political scheme.

“These are deliberate machinations of those who dread Sylva’s political relevance,” Bokoru added, insisting the former minister “has clean hands and will honour the EFCC invitation once he concludes medical treatment in the UK.”

Mocking the widening scope of the allegations, he quipped, “Only the Boys’ Brigade and Man’O’War remain uninvited to this theatre of persecution.”

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