Okay News reports that concerns have intensified around the prolonged detention of four aides associated with Nigeria’s former Minister of State for Petroleum, Chief Timipre Sylva, who also previously served as Governor of Bayelsa State in the oil-rich Niger Delta region. His spokesperson, Julius Bokoru, issued a strongly worded statement on Sunday condemning what he described as an unjustifiable ordeal affecting innocent workers and their families.
Bokoru revealed that the individuals — Mr Paganengigha Anagha, the first to be arrested; Musa Mohammed, Sylva’s driver; Police Officer Ayuba Reuben; and Mr Friday Lusa Paul, an escort driver — have remained in custody months after security operatives believed to be from Nigerian military intelligence raided Sylva’s Abuja residence.
He explained that the raid occurred in the midst of heightened political attention on the former minister, who was recently declared wanted by Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission over allegations of a $14.8 million fraud. Sylva, who has been a key figure in Nigeria’s petroleum policy reform, has denied any wrongdoing.
Bokoru said the situation has placed families in deep distress, adding:
“Yet the most distressing element of this saga is not the swirl of speculation, but the quiet suffering of innocent men caught in the crossfire. These individuals—fathers, husbands, ordinary Nigerians—have been held on grounds that appear unclear at best, and entirely vague to their traumatised families.”
He questioned why the continued detention persists despite written communication between Sylva and the EFCC, in which the former minister expressed willingness to appear before the agency. Sylva, who is receiving medical treatment in the United Kingdom, had insisted he never ignored any lawful summons and had not jumped bail.
Bokoru further complained that the Maitama residence of the former governor remains under heavy surveillance. According to him, “this persists even after Chief Sylva wrote to the EFCC, reaffirming his readiness to appear before the Commission on a mutually convenient date, subject only to his ongoing treatment for a life-threatening medical condition.”
He rejected attempts to link Sylva to a rumoured military coup earlier in the month, noting that both the Nigerian Federal Government and the military publicly dismissed the allegation.
The media aide accused unnamed political actors of exploiting the moment for their personal ambitions, stating that President Bola Tinubu is not behind the ordeal. He argued that Sylva’s contributions — including championing the Petroleum Industry Bill, which later became the Petroleum Industry Act, and initiating the Presidential Amnesty Programme that de-escalated militancy in the Niger Delta — should earn him respect rather than targeted aggression.
Bokoru urged security agencies to free the aides and dismantle the security blockade affecting Sylva’s young children. He concluded:
“The many supporters of Chief Sylva, a significant bloc within the APC in Bayelsa and beyond, remain steadfast in their faith in President Tinubu’s leadership. They hope that this long night of anxiety will soon give way to a calmer, brighter morning.”
