NIGERIA: EFCC Declares Ex-Minister Timipre Sylva Wanted Over Alleged $14.8m Fraud

By Onoja Baba, Nigeria 

The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared former Minister of Petroleum Resources and ex-Governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva, wanted over alleged involvement in a $14.8 million fraud.

In a statement issued by the Commission’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale on Monday, the EFCC said Sylva is wanted in connection with a case of conspiracy and dishonest conversion of $14,859,257 (Fourteen Million, Eight Hundred and Fifty-Nine Thousand, Two Hundred and Fifty-Seven United States Dollars).

The amount was reportedly part of funds injected by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) into Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited for the construction of a refinery.

According to the statement, the Commission obtained a warrant for Sylva’s arrest on November 6, 2025, from a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos. The order, granted by Justice D. I. Dipeolu, authorised the EFCC, the Police, or any law enforcement officer to arrest Sylva and bring him before the Commission to answer to the alleged offences.

“The order is made issuing a warrant to the Applicant or any Officer of the Commission, Police, or any law enforcement officer for the arrest of the Respondent for the purpose of bringing him before the Commission to answer to the criminal offence he is alleged to have committed,” the court order stated.

The EFCC appealed to the public to provide useful information about Sylva’s whereabouts by contacting any of its zonal offices nationwide or reporting to the nearest police station or security agency.

Sylva, a prominent political figure, served as Governor of Bayelsa State between 2007 and 2012 and later as Minister of State for Petroleum Resources under former President Muhammadu Buhari’s

administration.