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Revealed: Timipre Sylva On The Run As Security Operatives Raided Abuja Residence Over Linkage To Coup Plot

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By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

Some Nigerian Army personnel have conducted a raid on the Abuja residence of Timipre Marlin Sylva, a former governor and former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources. The operation is reportedly linked to an alleged coup plot currently under investigation by the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA).

According to multiple security sources who spoke with SaharaReporters on Tuesday, the military action targeted Sylva’s home in the affluent Maitama district of the nation’s capital.

According to insiders, a “special military team” carried out the operation after intelligence linked the “former South-South governor” to secret meetings allegedly held with some of the detained military officers.

“Nigerian Army special team ransacked the home of Timipre Sylva, who is believed to have fled Nigeria,” one top source familiar with the development told SaharaReporters.

“He is the South-South former governor frequently mentioned in the case. His brother, named Paga, was picked up during the raid. The operation also extended to his Bayelsa residence.”

Another security insider said that while no official statement had been issued regarding the raid, the action was “not random” but “a direct response to intelligence linking certain political figures to the alleged plotters.”

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This development comes amid growing tension within the armed forces following reports that at least 16 senior military officers had been detained incommunicado by the DIA over an alleged coup plot.

The detained officers, drawn from the Army, Navy, and Air Force, have been held for over three weeks in an undisclosed Abuja facility under what sources described as “unusual and suspicious conditions.”

According to the reports from Daily Trust and Sahara Reporters, the families of the detained officers told their sources that at first they believed their relatives had been kidnapped, as there was no official communication from the military regarding their arrests.

“It’s been 18 days since those 16 officers were detained in an undisclosed location. At first, we thought our brother was kidnapped before finding out what transpired from his friend who works in the NSA office,” a family member had told Sahara Reporters.

Security analysts have questioned why the DIA, an intelligence agency under the Ministry of Defence, is spearheading the investigation instead of allowing each military service to handle its personnel internally, a move seen as “highly political.”

“If the military were truly conducting a disciplinary operation, over 10,000 cases could emerge. Why only 16 officers, and why hand them to the DIA?” one retired officer asked. “This smells of politics. There’s clearly more going on behind the scenes.”

Speculations are now rife that the alleged plot and subsequent arrests may have deeper political undertones, potentially involving some former office holders with ties to late ex-President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.

Recall that the Nigerian Tracker News reported that after the arrest of the 16 officers, further investigation into the matter revealed that the said coup plot is being funded and engineered by a certain former governor from the south as he has been placed on watch, and being investigated for any involvement with the 16 army officers detained.

Sylva, a former governor of Bayelsa State and a close ally of late Buhari, served as Minister of State for Petroleum Resources between 2019 and 2023.

He was also the All Progressives Congress (APC) governorship candidate in the November 2023 Bayelsa election, which he lost to incumbent Governor Douye Diri of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP).

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Ganduje Shelves Attempt To Establish Independent Hisbah – Dan Agundi

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The attempt for the establishment of an independent Hisbah group in Kano State has been withdrawn and suspended – Baffa Babba Dan Agundi.

This was contained in a statement issued and signed by Alhaji Baffa Babba Dan Agundi, who said the withdrawal of the attempt was followed by a meeting with all stakeholders across the 44 local governments held at the Tinubu campaign office on Tuesday, the 16th of December.

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The statement added that the decision was following widespread outcry that trailed the attempt to establish the independent Hisbah group and the intervention of stakeholders, especially the Kano State Government and Department of State Services, as well as the former Executive Governor of Kano State, Dr. Abdullahi Ganduje, to ensure peace and stability.

The statement revealed that the meeting resolved to suspend the establishment of an independent Hisbah Fisabilillah to allow the Kano State Government to look into the issues amicably.

The statement maintained that the meeting also reiterated respect for the constituted authority and resolved to cooperate with security agencies for the maintenance of law and order as well as safety in Kano State and the country at large.

 

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ICPC Confirms Receipt of Dangote Petition Against NMDPRA CEO, Vows to Launch Investigation on the Matter

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By Yusuf Danjuma Yunusa

The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has acknowledged the receipt of a formal petition filed by billionaire industrialist Aliko Dangote against Farouk Ahmed, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).

In the petition, Dangote alleges that Ahmed engaged in economic sabotage and corrupt practices, including the purported use of $5 million in public funds to cover his children’s tuition at Swiss schools.

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The petition, submitted earlier this week, calls for an investigation into Ahmed’s conduct and alleged misuse of office. The ICPC has confirmed that the matter is under review in line with standard procedural protocols, and will investigate in due time.

“The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) writes to confirm that it received a formal petition today Tuesday 16th December, 2025 from Alhaji Aliko Dangote through his lawyer. The petition is against the CEO of the NMDPRA, Alhaji Farouk Ahmed.

“The ICPC wishes to state that the petition will be duly investigated,” said a statement by ICPC spokesman, John Odey.

No further statements have been released by either the ICPC or NMDPRA regarding the allegations at this time.

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None of Nigeria’s Presidents have Brigadier Generals as ADC, as the promotion of Tinubu’s ADC was shelved.

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None of Nigeria’s Presidents have Brigadier Generals as ADC, as the promotion of Tinubu’s ADC was shelved.”

The controversial plan to decorate Nurudeen Yusuf, aide-de-camp (ADC) to President Bola Tinubu, as a one-star general on Monday evening was shelved at the last minute after an intervention by two former chiefs of army staff.

Yusuf, who was only decorated as a colonel last January, was to be promoted to the rank of brigadier-general through “special presidential promotion”.

Under normal process, an officer has to be a colonel for at least four years after which he or she will attend the National Defence College (NDC) before they are considered for promotion.

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The approval to bypass the process was conveyed in a letter from the office of the national security adviser (NSA) to the Chief of army staff.

No brigadier has ever been ADC to the president of Nigeria, leading to further disquiet within the military establishment.

Ahead of the planned decoration on Monday, the minister of defence, Chris Musa — who is a retired general — and the chief of army staff, Waidi Shaibu, a lieutenant general, had cut short their visit to Lagos state and returned to the federal capital.

However, two highly respected former army chiefs eventually succeeded in persuading Tinubu to shelve the plan because of the dangers to the military establishment, TheCable learnt.

A presidential source told that the promotion is not going to happen “anytime soon”.

 

 

The cable

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