Court Issues 490 Years Sentences to Former NEXIM MD Robert Orya in ₦2.4bn Fraud Case

The Federal High Court in Abuja has sentenced Robert Orya, former Managing Director of the Nigeria Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), to a cumulative 490 years’ imprisonment after finding him guilty on 49 counts of fraud amounting to ₦2.4 billion.

The conviction was confirmed on Thursday by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) in a statement shared via its official X handle. According to the anti-graft agency, Justice F.E. Messiri sentenced Orya to 10 years’ imprisonment on each of the 49 counts, following the successful prosecution of the case by EFCC counsel Samuel Ugwuegbulam.

Orya served as Managing Director of NEXIM between 2011 and 2016. The EFCC said it proved all charges beyond reasonable doubt, leading to his conviction on every count brought before the court.

“The EFCC, today, February 5, 2026, secured the conviction of Robert Orya, a former Managing Director, Nigerian Import Export Bank, NEXIM (2011–2016), for a fraud of about ₦2.4 billion,” the statement read. “Orya was convicted by Justice F.E. Messiri of the FCT High Court, Abuja, and sentenced to ten years’ imprisonment on each of the 49 count charges.”

The ruling marks one of the most significant convictions involving a former top executive of a federal financial institution and underscores the EFCC’s continued push to hold public officials accountable for financial crimes.

In a related development, TVC News reported that Justice Dehinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, ordered the forfeiture of $20,000 and CFA 110,000 to the Federal Government of Nigeria. The funds were intercepted by operatives of the Nigerian Customs Service (NCS) at the Seme Border in Badagry Local Government Area of Lagos State and subsequently handed over to the EFCC for investigation.