Chief Julius Bokoru, Special Assistant on Media and Public Affairs to Chief Timipre Sylva, has cried out that four arrested aides and domestic workers of his principal are still languishing in detention.

Bokoru in a statement on Sun­day, titled, 'Detention of Sylva's Aides: A Call for Reason, Hu­manity and Due Process', said Mr. Paganengigha Anagha, the first to be arrested, was still kept in detention.

He identified others as Musa Mohammed, Chief Sylva's driv­er; Police Officer Ayuba Reuben and Mr. Friday Lusa Paul, an es­cort driver.

Bokoru said: "Yet the most distressing element of this saga is not the swirl of speculation, but the quiet suffering of innocent men caught in the crossfire.

"These individuals, fathers, husbands, ordinary Nigerians have been held on grounds that appear unclear at best, and en­tirely vague to their traumatised families".

Bokoru wondered why despite clear and formal communication between Sylva and the EFCC, his aides had continued to be held be­hind bars.

He said: "This persists even after Chief Sylva wrote to the EFCC, reaffirming his readiness to appear before the commission on a mutually convenient date, subject only to his ongoing treat­ment for a life-threatening medi­cal condition.

"Before these developments, the public was unsettled by un­founded attempts to link him to a purported coup plot, allegations the Federal Government and the military have since dismissed in absolute terms.

"One would have expected that such clarity would steady the national conversation. Instead, events escalated further, culmi­nating in public statements from the EFCC that appeared inconsis­tent with earlier engagements".

The media aide lamented that the Maitama home of Sylva had been under security siege, which he said had been traumatising the children and other members of the household confined within the house.

He said there was widespread belief that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu was not behind the tra­vails of Sylva, but that some selfish individuals out of their political ambitions were pulling all the stunts.

He insisted that Sylva with all his legacies in the petroleum sector and his contributions to the amnesty programme that restored permanent peace in the Niger Delta deserved respect and not humiliation.

He said: "These events carry a heavy toll on individuals, on fami­lies, and on the democratic values that demand fairness, transpar­ency and proportionality.

"They also risk overshadow­ing the legacy of a patriot who, against daunting odds, champi­oned the Petroleum Industry Bill until it became the Petroleum Industry Act we rely upon today.

"As governor, he ventured into the creeks to midwife the Presi­dential Amnesty Programme, a decisive intervention that re­stored peace and secured vital national revenues.

"Such a figure cannot be re­duced to a pawn in local political rivalries, nor targeted by those who see the coming electoral season as an opportunity to di­minish him.

"Across the political spectrum, there remains a genuine and widespread belief that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, a leader long regarded for his reformist courage, is not the architect of this prolonged ordeal.

"Only weeks ago, at the APC enlarged stakeholders' meeting in Bayelsa, Chief Sylva expressed unambiguous support for the president's second-term ambi­tion, praising his transforma­tional efforts across governance, healthcare, education and eco­nomic recovery.

"It is therefore imperative that state actors or parastatal opera­tives do not mistake personal or local disputes for federal direc­tives. What began as a local po­litical disagreement must not be allowed to mutate into a national crisis".

Bokoru appealed to security agencies to release the detained aides to enable them rejoin their anxious families, appealing to them to lift the 24-hour siege around Sylva's children and re­sort to due process, which he de­scribed as the foundation of any civilised society.

He said: "Chief Sylva has already written to the EFCC, pledging to appear before the commission on a medically fea­sible date agreed upon by both parties. This is the responsibility of any honourable man, and he has fulfilled it.

"The many supporters of Chief Sylva, a significant bloc within the APC in Bayelsa and beyond, remain steadfast in their faith in President Tinubu's leadership. They hope, earnestly and patiently, that this long night of anxiety will soon give way to a calmer, brighter morning."