A Federal High Court in Abuja has adjourned the trial of five aides of former Bayelsa State Governor, Timipre Sylva, until October 5.
The trial, which was scheduled to commence on Wednesday, was postponed because the presiding judge, Justice Peter Lifu, is away on an official assignment.
The five defendants—Reuben Ayuba, Musa Mohammed, Friday Paul, Paganengigha Anagaha and Ayebaifie Suobite—were arraigned on July 1 by the Department of State Services (DSS) on a two-count charge bordering on allegedly concealing the whereabouts of Sylva.
They pleaded not guilty to the charges.
Justice Lifu had earlier granted each of the defendants bail in the sum of ₦5 million with two sureties resident in Abuja, who must also provide valid tax clearance certificates.
According to the charge, the defendants allegedly became accessories after the fact by concealing the whereabouts of Sylva, who prosecutors described as “a fugitive of the law.”
They are also accused of conspiring to conceal his whereabouts, offences said to be contrary to Sections 519 and 516 of the Criminal Code Act.
Before their arraignment, the defendants had filed a fundamental rights enforcement suit, asking the court to order either their release or formal arraignment after their arrest by DSS operatives.
They described themselves as domestic workers and aides to the former governor.
In a supporting affidavit, the wife of one of the defendants, Preye Anagaha, stated that DSS operatives arrested her husband and other aides on October 25, 2025, at Sylva’s residence in Maitama, Abuja, after failing to locate the former governor.
Timipre Sylva is also mentioned in a separate 13-count charge filed by the Office of the Attorney General of the Federation against six individuals facing trial over an alleged coup plot against the administration of President Bola Tinubu.
Although Sylva is not listed as a defendant in that case, the charge describes him as “still at large.”
The trial of the six alleged coup plot suspects is scheduled to continue on September 30 before Justice Joyce Abdulmalik of the Federal High Court in Abuja.
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