Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared former Minister of Petroleum Resources and ex-Governor of Bayelsa State, Timipre Sylva, wanted over alleged financial crimes.
According to the anti-graft agency, Sylva is being sought in connection with a case of conspiracy and dishonest conversion involving $14,859,257 (Fourteen Million, Eight Hundred and Fifty-Nine Thousand, Two Hundred and Fifty-Seven US Dollars). The funds were reportedly part of an investment made by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) into Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited for the construction of a refinery project.
In a statement, the EFCC confirmed that it obtained a warrant for Sylva’s arrest on November 6, 2025, from the Federal High Court in Lagos. The order, issued by Justice D.I. Dipeolu, authorized the Commission, the police, or any law enforcement agency to arrest the former minister and bring him in “to answer to the criminal offence he is alleged to have committed.”
The EFCC has urged members of the public with information on Sylva’s whereabouts to contact its zonal offices nationwide, the nearest police station, or any other security agency.
Sylva, a prominent figure in Nigerian politics and a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), has not yet issued a public statement in response to the EFCC’s declaration.