Fresh details have emerged from Saturday’s raid on the Abuja residence of former Bayelsa State governor and ex-Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, with close associates confirming that several parts of the house were destroyed.
An associate of the Sylva told Punch that “expensive doors were destroyed while a number of other household appliances were ransacked and scattered during the raid but nothing incriminating was found.”
The associate dismissed reports linking the Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Samuel Ogbuku, to Sylva in the alleged coup plot.
Ogbuku, who once served as Sylva’s Chief of Staff while he was Bayelsa governor, also denied rumours of his arrest.
In a short message to Punch, he said, “I’m not aware of such. Just the way you are seeing it is the same way I’m seeing it too on social media.”
‘Sylva Not Involved In Any Coup’
Earlier on Wednesday, Sylva’s media aide, Julius Bokoru, issued a statement titled “Setting the record straight on recent false reports about Sylva” where he strongly denied his principal’s alleged involvement in the coup rumour.
“In the past 48 hours, I have been inundated with calls from members of the press, political associates, and concerned individuals regarding a circulating report alleging that His Excellency, Chief Timipre Sylva, has ‘fled’ the country in connection with certain purported matters,” Bokoru said.
He confirmed the raid but insisted Sylva had no connection to any plot to topple the government.
“It is true that the residence of His Excellency, Chief Timipre Sylva, was recently subjected to a raid by individuals believed to be operatives of the Defence Headquarters. During the said operation, considerable damage was inflicted upon the property. Despite sustained efforts, I have been unable to ascertain the reasons or authorisation for this raid,” he stated.
According to Bokoru, both Sylva and his wife, Alanyingi, were outside the country during the raid.
“As at my last communication with His Excellency, he was engaged in a routine medical check-up in the United Kingdom, after which he was scheduled to proceed to Malaysia to attend a professional conference,” he explained.
He stressed that Sylva remained a “thoroughbred democrat” who had always relied on due process and political structures for his achievements.
Bokoru further described the coup allegations as politically motivated.
“These rumours are nothing more than the handiwork of desperate and narcissistic politicians, already consumed by ambitions for 2027, who see Sylva as their last real obstacle, a man whose political presence and credibility continue to expose their dark, self-serving ambitions,” he said.
He added that Sylva’s “unwavering support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu” was a matter of public record, citing how the Bayelsa APC structure unanimously endorsed Tinubu under Sylva’s leadership.
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