The former Governor of Bayelsa State and immediate past Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, has firmly denied any involvement in the alleged attempted coup to overthrow President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration.
Sylva, in a statement issued by his media aide, Julius Bokoru, confirmed that soldiers believed to have been deployed from the Defence Headquarters (DHQ) recently raided his Abuja residence, causing considerable damage to the property. He, however, said the operation had no justifiable reason or proper authorisation.
Reports had earlier emerged that military personnel conducted coordinated raids on Sylva’s residences in Abuja and Bayelsa following claims of his alleged connection to a botched coup attempt.
Reacting to the reports, the statement described the allegations as politically motivated and the handiwork of “desperate and narcissistic politicians” consumed by ambitions ahead of the 2027 general elections.
“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,” the statement said.
Titled “Setting the Record Straight on Recent False Reports About Sylva,” the statement also dismissed speculation that the former minister had fled the country.
“In the past forty-eight 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.
For the avoidance of doubt, 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.”
Bokoru said the officers involved provided no explanation for their actions and that both Sylva and his wife, Alanyingi Sylva, were outside the country at the time.
“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,” the statement added.
The statement reaffirmed that Sylva had no link to any alleged coup plot, noting that the Defence Headquarters had already dismissed the circulating rumours.
“Chief Timipre Sylva, CON, has no involvement whatsoever — either in planning or logistics — with any such plot. He is a thoroughbred democrat whose political journey has been defined by faith in democratic processes and institutions,” Bokoru stated.
He further stressed Sylva’s loyalty to President Tinubu, recalling how the former governor mobilised the entire Bayelsa APC structure to unanimously endorse the President at the APC Bayelsa Expanded Stakeholders’ Meeting — an act he said underscored Sylva’s commitment to party unity and national stability.
Meanwhile, the military authorities have maintained silence regarding the alleged detention of the managing director of a federal agency accused of co-sponsoring the purported coup attempt.
Efforts to reach the spokesperson of the Nigerian military, Brigadier General Tukur Gusau, for comments were unsuccessful at the time of filing this report.
A source familiar with the ongoing investigation disclosed that the detained official was arrested for allegedly transferring a substantial sum of money to a former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, reportedly fingered as one of the financiers of the alleged plot to truncate the nation’s democracy.
Although Sylva has denied any involvement, reports suggest that investigators believe the funds were intended to finance the failed coup aimed at overthrowing President Tinubu’s government.
Linus Aleke
Follow us on:
