Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared a former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, wanted over an alleged case of conspiracy and the dishonest conversion of US$14,859,257—part of the funds injected by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) into Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited for the construction of a refinery.
The commission obtained a warrant on November 6 from a Federal High Court in Lagos for Sylva’s arrest.
The order, granted by Justice D.I. Dipeolu, stated:“An 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.”
Following the order, the Commission issued a public notice which read: “The public is hereby notified that Timipre Sylva, a former Minister of State, Petroleum Resources, and former Governor of Bayelsa State, whose photograph appears above, is wanted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in an alleged case of conspiracy and dishonest conversion of $14,859,257—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.
“Sylva, 61, is from Brass Local Government Area of Bayelsa State. This notice is pursuant to a November 6, 2025, warrant of the Federal High Court, Lagos.
“Anybody with useful information as to his whereabouts should please contact the Commission at its Ibadan, Uyo, Sokoto, Maiduguri, Benin, Makurdi, Kaduna, Ilorin, Enugu, Kano, Lagos, Gombe, Port Harcourt, or Abuja offices, or through 08093322644, its e-mail address [email protected], or the nearest police station or other security agencies.”
This development comes 27 days after the House of Representatives resolved to probe the alleged mismanagement of a $35 million investment by the NCDMB in a modular refinery project that never materialised in the Niger Delta.
However, the arrest warrant has angered the former minister’s office, which has accused the EFCC of engaging in what it described as dirty politics.
Sylva’s spokesperson, Julius Bokoru, said the former minister was in the UK for a medical check-up and would contact the EFCC upon his return.
He added that the refinery project was above board with “traceable documentation.”
“The refinery project in question is a legitimate, transparent, and verifiable undertaking,” Bokoru said, as reported by the BBC.
He questioned why the EFCC had not contacted the former minister directly and argued that declaring him wanted on social media was intended to “inflame public sentiment.”
Sylva served as Minister of State for Petroleum Resources from 2019 to 2023 under the late former President Muhammadu Buhari and was Governor of Bayelsa State from 2007 to 2012.
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