The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on Friday filed fresh corruption charges against Timipre Sylva, former governor of Bayelsa State, at the federal high court in Abuja.
Sylva is charged alongside Francis Okokuro, Gbenga Balogun, and Samuel Ogbuku.
According to EFCC, they used three companies – Marlin Maritime Limited, Eat Catering Services Limited, and Haloween-Blue Construction and Logistics Limited to move about N19.2 billion from Bayelsa state coffers between 2009 and 2012, under false pretence of using the withdrawn money to augment salaries of the state government workers.
The action of the anti-graft agency comes two days after Ahmed R Mohammed of justice the federal high court dismissed the 42-count charge of stealing brought against Sylva and his co-accused by the EFCC, with the excuse that the prosecution’s application to consolidate the charges against the defendants amounted to an abuse of court process.
The commission faulted the ruling on the grounds that it was premature, as the accused persons had not taken any plea before the court.
“The action of the trial judge stalled the move by the anti-graft agency to consolidate the charges against the former governor, having, days earlier, withdrawn similar charges pending before Justice ES Chukwu of the same court,” Wilso Uwujaren, EFCC’s spokesman, said in a statement.
“The anti-graft agency awaits the assignment of the case, to pave way for the arraignment of Sylva and others.”
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