Former Governor of Bayelsa State, Chief Timipre Sylva, has dismissed circulating claims suggesting he “fled” Nigeria over alleged involvement in purported anti-state activities, describing the reports as politically motivated and completely unfounded.

The rebuttal followed a raid on his Abuja residence within the past 48 hours by individuals believed to be operatives attached to the Defence Headquarters. The operation reportedly caused significant damage to the property.

In an official clarification issued on Wednesday by his Special Assistant on Media and Public Affairs, Mr. Julius Bokoru, the aide stated that neither he nor anyone close to the former minister has been briefed on who authorised the raid or what prompted it. According to him, security personnel offered no explanation at the scene and have yet to do so.

Bokoru confirmed that Sylva and his wife, Alanyingi, were outside the country at the time of the incident. He disclosed that the former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources was in the United Kingdom for a routine medical check-up and had plans to participate in a professional engagement in Malaysia.

The media aide described subsequent reports on social media linking Sylva to an alleged coup plot as “spurious, sensational and politically orchestrated,” noting that the Defence Headquarters had already publicly dismissed rumours of any such attempt.

“Chief Sylva has no involvement—directly or remotely—in any plotting or logistics of a coup. His political life has been defined by democratic conviction,” he said, recalling Sylva’s emergence in the old Rivers State House of Assembly in the 1990s and his election as governor through popular will.

Bokoru also emphasised Sylva’s longstanding allegiance to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, noting his pivotal role in rallying Bayelsa APC stakeholders to endorse the president during an expanded party meeting.

He described the allegations as the handiwork of “desperate politicians nursing 2027 ambitions,” arguing that Sylva’s towering profile threatens their schemes.

“These desperate figures see him as their last real obstacle. His credibility exposes their darker ambitions,” Bokoru added.