Keypoints:
- EFCC issues arrest warrant for ex-minister
- $14.8m refinery fund under investigation
- Public urged to assist with information
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 an alleged $14.8m fund diversion.
In a statement posted on X on Monday, the Commission said Sylva is being investigated for conspiracy and dishonest conversion involving $14,859,257 — money reportedly injected by the Nigerian Content Development and Monitoring Board (NCDMB) into Atlantic International Refinery and Petrochemical Limited for a refinery construction project.
According to the EFCC, the funds were intended to support Nigeria’s local content goals in the petroleum industry but were allegedly misappropriated.
Court issues arrest warrant
The EFCC disclosed that it obtained a warrant for Sylva’s arrest from the Federal High Court in Lagos on November 6, 2025. Justice D.I. Dipeolu granted the order authorising EFCC operatives, police officers, or other law enforcement agents to apprehend Sylva.
The court order, quoted in the EFCC’s post, reads: ‘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.’
Public urged to assist investigation
The EFCC called on anyone with information on Sylva’s whereabouts to report to the nearest police station, security agency, or any of its zonal offices nationwide.
Sylva, who previously served as Bayelsa State governor from 2008 to 2012 and later as Minister of State for Petroleum Resources under President Muhammadu Buhari, has yet to publicly respond to the declaration.
The anti-corruption agency reaffirmed its commitment to recovering misused public funds and ensuring transparency in the management of national resources.
