Certificate forgery: Group drags Petroleum Minister Sylva to court, wants him removed from office 

The Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva has been dragged before a Federal High Court in Abuja over allegations of Certificate forgery. The group, Transparency Advocacy For Development Initiative, TADI while speaking with the media in Abuja said there is an urgent need to ascertain the true identity of a one-time Governor of Bayelsa State and serving Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva. 

TADI  Director of Compliance, Comrade Adamu Kabir Matazu said during an investigation that  took the group to the United States District Court, Eastern District of Pennsylvania, it was discovered that Chief Timipre Sylva instituted a libel case against one Jackson Ude.

” In the course of hearing, Chief Timipre Sylva signed a Verification of Interrogatories Answers dated April, 2022 and attached various academic documents in proof of his identity. The said academic documents include a First School Leaving Certificate with No. 092915 dated 1st July, 1976 issued to ANAGHA TIMIPERE who finished from Ajeromi Central IA School, Araromi-Apapa, Lagos State, Nigeria. Also, Chief Timipre Sylva claims to hold a West African Examination Council (WAEC) General Certificate of Education with Certificate No. PO851528 and Candidate No. 21735215 dated December 1981 issued to MARLIN ANAGHA TIMIPRE with the following results: English Language – Grade 6; Literature in English – Grade 6; Religious Knowledge – Grade 3; History – Grade 3; and, Commerce – Grade 6. We uncovered also that the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources parades a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English with Second Class Honours (Upper Division) from University of Port-Harcourt dated 19th August, 1986 issued to ANAGHA TIMIPRE MARLIN. Finally, he holds a Doctorate Degree in International Relations (Honoris Causa) from UBIS University in Geneva, Switzerland dated 22nd September, 2011 and issued to Chief Timipre Sylva.

“You will agree with us that the certificates mentioned above have visible anomalies and do not depict the true identity of CHIEF TIMPRE SYLVA. We are confused as to who CHIEF TIMPRE SYLVA is; who ANAGHA TIMIPRE MARLIN is; who MARLIN ANAGHA TIMIPRE is and who ANAGHA TIMIPERE is. There is no evidence anywhere showing that CHIEF TIMPRE SYLVA ever changed his name from ANAGHA TIMIPRE MARLIN to TIMIPRE SYLVA in 1986 after he purportedly graduated from University of Port-Harcourt. Our investigation reveals that there is also no record that the Minister of State for Petroleum Resources has National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) Discharge or Exemption Certificate, as the case may be, either in the name of ANAGHA TIMIPRE MARLIN or TIMIPRE SYLVA. The question we as well as other anti-corruption crusaders all over Nigeria are asking is: WHO IS CHIEF TIMIPRE SYLVA?

While we are still asking, records abound that CHIEF TIMPRE SYLVA intentionally presented the aforementioned inconsistent academic documents before the Bayelsa State Gubernatorial Screening Committee in 2007 as well as the Nigerian Senate and House of Representatives in 2019 under oath for purposes of screening into the positions of Governor of Bayelsa State and Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, respectively.

“In a bid to get answer to the rather disturbing question of WHO IS CHIEF TIMIPRE SYLVA, our Transparency Advocacy for Development Initiative (TADI) on Thursday, 1st September, 2022 filed an Originating Summons before the Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, Nigeria against the Director-General, Department of State Services (DSS), Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and five other Defendants. The suit which is marked FHC/ABJ/CS/1563/2022 seeks amongst other reliefs; A DECLARATION that by the interpretation of Sections 366, 364 and 158 (2) of the Penal Code Act, Cap 532 Laws of the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja 1990 read together with the Seventh Schedule of the 1999 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (as amended), Mr. Timipre Sylva sued as 7th Defendant is overdue for arrest and prosecution by the Director-General of DSS and IGP for the offences of identity theft, impersonation and forgery. 

“We are also praying the Honourable Court for AN ORDER OF MANDAMUS COMPELLING the Director-General of DSS and IGP to perform their legal duties under Sections 1, 2 (3) and 8 of the National Security Agencies Act, 1986 read together with Instrument No. 1 of 1999 as well as Section 4 of the Police Act, 2020 by forthwith arresting and prosecuting Mr. Timipre Sylva sued as 7th Defendant for the offences of identity theft, impersonation and forgery punishable under the extant laws. In addition, we are asking for AN ORDER REVOKING the International Passport of Mr. Timipre Sylva and restraining him from travelling out of Nigeria to take refuge either in London, Dubai, Canada, United States of America or any other part of the world to give room for his speedy arrest and prosecution.

If the Honourable Court is magnanimous enough and grants all our prayers contained in the Originating Summons, then we will be expecting AWARD OF EXEMPLARY DAMAGES in the sum of N500,000,000 (Five Hundred Million Naira) jointly and or severally against the 1st, 2nd, 5th and 6th Defendants for failure, refusal, or neglect to perform their legal duties by not properly profiling the 7th Defendant and giving verified information about the true identity of the 7th Defendant during his screening as Governorship and Ministerial candidate before the Bayelsa State Gubernatorial Screening Committee in 2007 as well as the Nigerian Senate and House of Representatives in 2019. 

“It is our hope that the suit will be assigned to a Presiding Judge and a date fixed for its hearing in the coming week. As soon as that happens, we will inform the media to meet us in front of the Federal High Court Headquarters, Abuja for an elaborate briefing. In the interim, we call on President Muhammadu Buhari who incidentally is joined as 4th Defendant in our suit to act fast by removing CHIEF TIMPRE SYLVA from his cabinet on moral grounds. Let it not be that the huge gains recorded by Mr. President in the fight against corruption since the past seven years will be rubbished by a single man whose academic records and character are questionable. As it happened in the case of Mrs. Kemi Adeosun, former Minister of Finance, we advise CHIEF TIMPRE SYLVA to honourably resign his position as Minister of State for Petroleum Resources without further delay before he is put to shame” he said.