The former governor of Bayelsa state, Timipre
Sylva, has been arrested by the Economic and
Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) today.
In a statement released on Wednesday, the anti-
graft agency said it arrived at his No. 3, Niger
Street, Maitama, Abuja home at about 10am, but
were informed that Sylva was not in town. They
insisted on conducting a search on the apartment,
since they had a court warrant and eventually
found him hiding.
"During the search, vital documents were
obtained. Ironically, the ex-governor who was
said to be out of town was later found hiding in a
dingy corner in the upper chamber of his
expansive mansion," Wilson uwujaren, the
commission's spokesperson said in the statement.
"He was immediately whisked away and is
currently being interrogated at the Abuja
headquarters of the anti- graft agency. He is being
grilled in connection with fresh evidence linking
him with a bouquet of fraudulent transactions
that borders on money laundering. Part of the
new evidence includes a number of eye-popping
real estate acquisitions in Abuja.
"The arrest of the former governor is sequel to his
refusal to honour invitations by the Commission.
Rather than appear before the EFCC, he got his
lawyers to inform the Commission that he was
unable to appear because he was sick, and
hospitalised in Lagos. The lawyer had promised to
appear with his client on May 7, 2013 but failed to
do so."