The camp of former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, has accused the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) of launching a politically motivated campaign against him, following the agency’s recent decision to declare him wanted on social media.
In a statement signed by Mr Julius Bokoru, Special Assistant on Media and Public Affairs to Chief Sylva, the camp described the EFCC’s announcement as “a sudden digital proclamation designed to inflame public sentiment and manufacture yet another episode of orchestrated hostility.”
The statement reads partly: “The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Monday took to social media to announce, quite unceremoniously, that it had declared Chief Timipre Sylva wanted. 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.
“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 same shadowy forces that once sought to criminalise Sylva politically now appear to have reinvented themselves as fiscal crusaders. There must, undoubtedly, be an explanation for this cinematic transition—from rumour to reinvention, from one carefully scripted accusation to another.
“Chief Timipre Sylva remains, without equivocation, the target of a coordinated and calculated political onslaught. His recent travails bear an uncanny resemblance to the trials of Job in Holy Scripture—each ordeal arriving with near-mathematical precision, each accusation discredited only for another to appear. These are no coincidences; they are the deliberate machinations of those who dread Sylva’s enduring political relevance and moral resolve.
“For clarity, I have not been in direct communication with Chief Sylva. However, from available information and from prior official briefings, it is important to restate that 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 alleged that the development represents a fresh phase in an “orchestrated hostility” aimed at tarnishing the former minister’s image, adding that the “desperation to sully Sylva’s name knows no restraint.”
He insisted that Sylva had not diverted any public funds, noting that the refinery project under investigation was a legitimate and well-documented initiative subjected to due process.
According to him, the allegations against Sylva are “transparent acts of persecution” motivated by political rivalry and fear of the former minister’s “enduring influence.”
The statement further noted that those behind the allegations “will not prevail,” stressing that “truth, though often delayed, remains immutable.
“To our friends, allies, and well-wishers: this, too, shall pass. Truth, though often delayed, remains immutable. It neither bows to propaganda nor perishes in the tumult of falsehood. Those engineering this relentless campaign of defamation will not prevail—for light, by its very nature, must always outshine darkness,” he stated.