Fraud and Conspiracy: Sylva Could Face Court, But Where Is He?

By: Abudu Olalekan

So, where is Timipre Sylva? That’s the question hanging in the air. Months have passed. His Abuja home was raided, his brother arrested. He was declared wanted. And yet, the former Bayelsa State Governor is nowhere to be found. Reportersroom can now report that authorities, fed up, are considering a dramatic step: putting him on trial in absentia. Even if he never shows up.

Let’s rewind a bit. Last October, things got tense. Operatives from the Defence Intelligence Agency swept through his property. This wasn’t some random check. It was connected, we learned, to those swirling investigations into an alleged plot to unseat President Tinubu. Sylva was out of the country. Lucky break, perhaps. But then the EFCC piled on. They want him for something else entirely: a whopping $14.8 million fraud case. Conspiracy, dishonest conversion—the whole deal. They slapped his face on the ‘wanted’ list.

Now, here’s where it gets messy. The military’s story kept changing. At first, they outright denied any coup attempt. This was back in October 2025. Brigadier General Tukur Gusau called reports “unnecessary tension.” Just a routine internal probe, he said. Nothing to see. Fast forward to just last Monday. A total backtrack. A new spokesperson, Major General Samaila Uba, stood up and confirmed it. Yes, there was a plot. Several officers are in trouble for it. The about-face was stark.

All this forms the backdrop to Sylva’s vanishing act. Following the arrest of those 16 military officers, his house got hit days later. The dots, rightly or wrongly, are being connected. His media aide, Julius Bokoru, cries foul. He calls it political. A scheme by desperate folks eyeing 2027. He says Sylva is just abroad, dealing with medical issues. He’ll come back and answer questions, Bokoru insists. That was three months ago. Silence.

So what’s happening now? The chase is international. Top sources within the DSS and EFCC told Reportersroom that Interpol is in the loop. They’re tracing, tracking. “He can’t hide forever,” one DSS operative told us, bluntly. They drew a comparison to Nnamdi Kanu. Thought he was safe overseas too. Look how that ended. The message is clear: turn yourself in.

The EFCC is running out of patience. One officer, speaking anonymously, laid it out. “We are looking for the right time to arraign him.” But what if he stays gone? Can they even do that? “It is possible,” the source admitted. “The law makes provision for it.” A trial in absentia. An empty defendant’s chair. It’s a rare, dramatic move. But it’s on the table.

Think about the imagery. A courtroom. Prosecutors laying out a case for fraud, for conspiracy. A high-profile name. And no one there to defend it. It sends a message, doesn’t it? That the process won’t be stalled. Not indefinitely.

We reached out to Bokoru again for an update. His response was telling. He clammed up completely. “Given the confirmation by the Defence Headquarters, this is now a national security matter,” he texted. No comment on travel, on health, on anything. The tone had shifted from defiance to tight-lipped caution.

It leaves us with a standoff. On one side, a former governor, a minister, a powerful figure insisting from afar that this is political persecution. On the other, a determined set of agencies weaving a narrative of coup plots and millions gone missing. And in the middle, a legal system inching toward a unprecedented scenario.

The clock is ticking. Every day Sylva remains away, the pressure builds. The prospect of that empty chair in court grows more likely. He says he’ll return. But when? The authorities are signaling they might not wait. This story is far from over, but its next chapter could be written without its main character even in the room. How’s that for a plot twist.