The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, wanted over an alleged $14,859,257 fraud.
In a public notice on Monday, EFCC spokesperson, Dele Oyewale, said the funds were provided by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) to Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited.
Senior officials of the commission confirmed that Sylva has also been placed on the watchlists of the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), Interpol, the United Kingdom Metropolitan Police, and security agencies in Canada and other countries.
Sylva’s Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, Julius Bokoru, said the former minister is currently in the United Kingdom.
A source within the EFCC stated that the investigation had been ongoing: “The former minister was visiting our office but later stopped. Now that he has been declared wanted, he has also been placed on the watchlists of the US FBI, Interpol, and other security agencies.”
Oyewale noted that the EFCC obtained a Federal High Court warrant for Sylva’s arrest in Lagos on 6 November 2025. Justice D. I. Dipeolu issued the order, directing security agencies to arrest the former minister and present him before the EFCC to answer to the allegations.
This development comes 27 days after the House of Representatives resolved to investigate the alleged mismanagement of a $35 million investment by the NCDMB in a modular refinery project in the Niger Delta that was never completed.
The motion, sponsored by Billy Osawaru, queried the non-existence of Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited despite the significant federal investment.
Stakeholders had petitioned the EFCC in May 2024 to investigate the NCDMB’s multi-million-dollar investments, but the commission did not take action at the time.
The House has since directed its Committees on Midstream, Downstream, and Legislative Compliance to investigate and submit findings.
Sylva, a former governor of Bayelsa State and a chieftain of the All Progressives Congress (APC), was recently in the news after his Abuja residence was raided by soldiers on 25 October over an alleged coup plot. His Special Assistant on Domestic Affairs, Paga, and his driver were arrested, while Sylva was reportedly abroad.
Reacting to the EFCC declaration, his media aide, Bokoru, described the development as politically motivated, alleging that the commission did not follow due process.
“No formal communication was extended to him. It appears to be an attempt to inflame public sentiment,” he said. He further claimed that allegations previously centred around a supposed coup had now “metamorphosed” into financial accusations.