Julius Bokoru, the Special Assistant on Media and Public Affairs to former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, has cried out that four of the minister’s arrested aides and domestic workers are still languishing in detention.
Bokoru, in a statement titled, ‘Detention of Sylva’s aides: a call for reason, humanity and due process,’ said that Mr Paganengigha Anagha, the first to be arrested, was still kept in detention.
He identified others as Musa Mohammed, Sylva’s driver; police officer, Ayuba Reuben; and Mr Friday Lusa Paul, an escort driver.
He said: “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.”
Bokoru wondered why, despite clear and formal communication between Sylva and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), his aides had continued to be held behind bars.
He said: “This persists even after 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.
“Before these developments, the public was unsettled by unfounded attempts to link him to a purported coup plot, allegations the Federal Government and the military have since dismissed in absolute terms.
“One would have expected that such clarity would steady the national conversation. Instead, events escalated further, culminating in public statements from the EFCC that appeared inconsistent with earlier engagements.”
The media aide lamented that the Maitama home of Sylva had been under security siege, which, he said, had been traumatising to the children and other members of the household confined within the house.
He said there was widespread belief that President Bola Tinubu was not behind the travails of Sylva, but that some selfish individuals, out of their political ambitions, were pulling all the stunts.
He insisted that Sylva, with all his legacies in the petroleum sector and his contributions to the Amnesty Programme, which restored permanent peace in the Niger Delta, deserves respect and not humiliation.
He said: “These events carry a heavy toll on individuals, on families, and on the democratic values that demand fairness, transparency and proportionality.
“They also risk overshadowing the legacy of a patriot who, against daunting odds, championed the Petroleum Industry Bill until it became the Petroleum Industry Act we rely upon today.
