The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared former Minister of Petroleum Resources and ex-Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva, wanted over an alleged $14.8 million fraud.
According to a statement by the Commission’s Head of Media and Publicity, Dele Oyewale, the EFCC accuses Sylva 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 funds were said to be part of an investment by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) in Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited for the construction of a refinery.
The anti-graft agency disclosed that it obtained a warrant for Sylva’s arrest on November 6, 2025, from the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos. Justice D.I. Dipeolu, who issued the order, ruled that “a warrant 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 EFCC urged anyone with information about Sylva’s whereabouts to contact any of its zonal directorates nationwide, or report to the nearest police station or other security agencies.
Sylva, who served as Minister of State for Petroleum Resources and later as Bayelsa State governor between 2007 and 2012, has not yet responded to the allegations.
