Ex-NEXIM MD Jailed 490 Years for ₦2.4bn Fraud
An FCT High Court in Abuja has sentenced a former Managing Director of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), Robert Orya, to a cumulative 490 years’ imprisonment after finding him guilty of a ₦2.4 billion fraud.
Justice F.E. Messiri convicted Orya on all 49 counts filed against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), imposing 10 years’ imprisonment on each count.
The EFCC confirmed the conviction in a statement on Thursday, noting that the former NEXIM chief was prosecuted by Samuel Ugwuegbulam, who proved the case beyond reasonable doubt.
Orya was first arraigned in November 2021 on a 49-count charge bordering on criminal breach of trust, impersonation, misappropriation, official corruption, fraud and abuse of office. The anti-graft agency accused him of abusing his position to unlawfully obtain and divert funds belonging to NEXIM Bank.
One of the charges revealed that Orya induced the bank to release ₦488 million as a loan to Treasure Mix Construction Limited under the false pretence that the facility was applied for and meant for Luxurium Leisure Services Limited, an act said to contravene the Advance Fee Fraud and Other Fraud Related Offences Act, 2006.
According to the EFCC, the transactions were part of a wider scheme through which the former bank chief allegedly diverted about ₦2.4 billion during his tenure.
In his judgment, Justice Messiri held that the prosecution successfully established the elements of the offences, describing the acts as a gross abuse of trust involving a public-interest financial institution.
Orya served as Managing Director of NEXIM Bank between 2011 and 2016, a period later overshadowed by investigations and legal battles over loan disbursement practices and alleged financial misconduct.
