Chief Julius Bokoru, the media aide to former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, has denied reports linking his principal to any alleged attempt to overthrow the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Bokoru, in a statement released on Wednesday, dismissed the claims as “a fabrication driven by desperate politicians” and clarified that Sylva is currently in the United Kingdom for medical checks, from where he is expected to travel to Malaysia for a professional conference.
His response follows reports that armed operatives of the Nigerian Army had stormed Sylva’s residences in Abuja and Bayelsa, arresting his brother during a search connected to a purported coup plot being investigated by the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA).
“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,” Bokoru confirmed. “Despite sustained efforts, I have been unable to ascertain the reasons or authorisation for this raid. The officers involved did not provide any explanation for their actions, either at the time or subsequently.”
Bokoru said the former governor and his wife, Her Excellency Alanyingi Sylva, were out of the country during the operation. He described the reports of Sylva’s alleged involvement in any coup plot as “baseless and malicious.”
“Chief Sylva is a thoroughbred democrat, whose entire political journey has been defined by his faith in democratic processes and institutions,” Bokoru stated. “He has no involvement whatsoever—either in planning or logistics—with any such plot.”
The media aide recalled Sylva’s recent public show of loyalty to President Tinubu, noting that the former minister “mobilised the entire Bayelsa APC structure to unanimously endorse the president at the APC Bayelsa Expanded Stakeholders’ Meeting.”
Bokoru accused unnamed political figures of spreading the rumours to tarnish Sylva’s reputation ahead of the 2027 elections, describing them as “desperate and narcissistic politicians consumed by ambition.”
He added that the Defence Headquarters had already debunked claims of any coup plot, reiterating that Sylva remains “a committed democrat and supporter of the Tinubu administration.”
