ABUJA/Nigeria: Comrade Timi Frank, the former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), has expressed concerns for his safety as he claimed to have received threats from Chief Timipre Sylva, a former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources. Frank announced that he had officially reported the matter to the Police by submitting a petition to the Acting Inspector General of Police, Olukayode Egbetokun, demanding an investigation and appropriate action.
Frank, in his statement, released on Thursday, June 28, 2023, urged the Inspector General of Police, as well as Nigerians and the international community, to hold Sylva accountable if any harm befalls him in the near future. The petition, titled “Incessant threats to the life of Comrade Timi Frank,” was submitted to the IGP on June 27, 2023, and signed by Frank’s counsel, Edward Omaga, the principal partner of GRAYLAW Practice LP, Abuja.
The petition highlighted various alleged offenses committed by Sylva, including identity theft, impersonation, forgery of academic certificates, and providing false evidence, all of which are in violation of Nigerian criminal laws. Frank’s legal team stated that Sylva had resorted to threatening Frank’s life while the investigation was ongoing. They claimed that Sylva, who is also the APC flagbearer for the Bayelsa State Governorship Election scheduled for November 14, 2023, was actively planning to track down and harm Frank, even outside Nigeria.
According to the petition, Frank had received distressing information indicating that Sylva had shared his sinister plans with close aides and associates. Allegedly, Sylva was funding a death squad to monitor Frank’s whereabouts in his residences in Accra and Dubai, with the intention of eliminating him. The petition emphasized the need for the police to take the matter seriously, highlighting Sylva’s alleged connections to cultists and other dangerous groups known for carrying out unlawful acts.
The document further referenced a past incident involving Sylva, where he was implicated in an attempt to assault and kidnap Senator Adams Oshiomhole during the APC primaries in Bayelsa State in 2015. Frank’s legal team warned that Sylva’s previous actions indicated a willingness to go to extreme lengths to silence his critics, raising concerns about the safety of their client.
Consequently, the petition called on the Inspector General of Police to take immediate and decisive action to protect Frank’s life, citing the statutory responsibilities outlined in Section 4 of the Police Act, 2020. The lawyer expressed confidence in the Inspector General’s competence and integrity, urging him to demonstrate to local and international observers that criminality would no longer be tolerated in Nigeria.
