Paganengigha Anagha, younger brother of former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Timipre Sylva, is set to be arraigned today at the Federal High Court in Abuja over his alleged involvement in a 2025 coup plot against President Bola Tinubu.
Anagha will be docked alongside Sylva’s driver, Musa Mohammed; a plainclothes police officer, Ayuba Reuben; and an escort driver, Friday Lusa Paul. The arraignment is scheduled to take place at Court 12, according to sources within the office of the Attorney General of the Federation.
Details of the charges against the defendants have not yet been officially disclosed.
The development follows a series of allegations linking Sylva to a purported failed coup attempt aimed at toppling the Tinubu administration in late 2025. Reports had claimed that the former Bayelsa State governor, who is currently in the United Kingdom, acted as a key financier of the alleged plot, with sums ranging from ₦785 million to as much as ₦46 billion reportedly traced to accounts associated with him.
Tensions escalated in October 2025 when operatives of the Defence Intelligence Agency (DIA), alongside military personnel, reportedly raided properties linked to Sylva in Abuja and Bayelsa State. During the operation, Anagha and others were arrested and taken into custody.
Further reports suggested that Sylva, who was said to be abroad at the time, moved across multiple countries, including Senegal and Argentina, amid efforts to evade arrest.
The alleged coup plot was also linked to the detention of about 16 military officers accused of holding secret meetings to overthrow the civilian government.
In response to the allegations, Sylva’s media aide, Julius Bokoru, dismissed the claims as politically motivated, insisting that his principal had no involvement in any coup-related activities.
“Chief Timipre Sylva has no involvement whatsoever, either in planning or logistics with any such plot. He is a thoroughbred democrat whose political career remains clear to all Nigerians,” the statement read.
Bokoru further maintained that Sylva remains a supporter of President Tinubu and attributed the allegations to political opponents seeking to tarnish his reputation ahead of the 2027 general elections.
Meanwhile, in a separate development, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) declared Sylva wanted in November 2025 in connection with a $14.8 million fraud investigation.
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