Sylva’s aide faults reports linking ex-minister to coup plot

Chief Julius Bokoru, Special Assistant on Media and Public Affairs to former Minister of State for Petroleum Resources, Chief Timipre Sylva, has voiced concerns over the media's handling of allegations linking his principal to an alleged coup plot. Bokoru stated that some media reports seem to go beyond investigative journalism and appear to be actively promoting a particular narrative against Sylva.

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The allegations have been repeatedly serialised, repackaged and amplified in a manner that increasingly gives the impression of a deliberate campaign to cement a particular narrative in the public mind.

Bokoru mentioned he had not yet been able to contact Sylva directly since the controversy began. However, he stressed that his statement was not an attack on investigative journalism itself, acknowledging its crucial role in Nigeria. Instead, he appealed to journalists and media organizations to rigorously examine the sources and methods behind the information they receive before publication.

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Where are these materials coming from? Who is supplying them? Why are sensitive investigative documents appearing in carefully sequenced instalments?

"The allegations have been repeatedly serialised, repackaged and amplified in a manner that increasingly gives the impression of a deliberate campaign to cement a particular narrative in the public mind," Bokoru stated. He questioned the origin and timing of sensitive investigative documents that seem to appear in carefully sequenced installments, asking who is supplying them and why each new report consistently reinforces the same conclusion about Sylva, despite the allegations not being proven in court.

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I will say plainly that the pattern of this coverage increasingly raises the uncomfortable question of whether some organisations are pursuing their own stories or, knowingly or otherwise, acting from someone else’s script.

While Bokoru clarified he has no evidence to accuse any media organization of being sponsored, he expressed that the coverage pattern raises "the uncomfortable question of whether some organisations are pursuing their own stories or, knowingly or otherwise, acting from someone else’s script." He emphasized the critical distinction between allegations and facts, stating that an allegation is not evidence, an investigator's theory is not a conviction, and a statement in a file is not a judicial finding of guilt. Bokoru urged that any evidence against Sylva should be properly tested in court.

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There is also a fundamental distinction that should never be blurred: an allegation is not evidence; an investigator’s theory is not a conviction; and a statement contained in an investigative file is not a judicial finding of guilt.