A Federal Capital Territory High Court in Abuja has convicted and sentenced a former Managing Director of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank, NEXIM, Robert Orya, to a cumulative 490 years in prison over a ₦2.4 billion fraud.
The Economic and Financial Crimes Commission secured the conviction on Thursday, February 5, 2026, after a prolonged trial linked to financial crimes allegedly committed during Orya’s tenure as NEXIM managing director between 2011 and 2016.
Delivering judgment, Justice F. E. Messiri of the FCT High Court found Orya guilty on all 49 counts filed against him, bordering on fraud, abuse of office and related offences. The court sentenced him to 10 years’ imprisonment on each count, bringing the total sentence to 490 years.
In a statement issued after the judgment, the anti-graft agency said the conviction marked the conclusion of a case that exposed large-scale financial abuse at the development finance institution.
“The EFCC, today, February 5, 2026, secured the conviction of Robert Orya, a former Managing Director of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank, NEXIM, for fraud amounting to about ₦2.4 billion,” the statement said. “Orya, who was prosecuted by EFCC counsel Samuel Ugwuegbulam, 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.”
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Orya was first arraigned before the court on November 25, 2021, on charges including criminal breach of trust, impersonation, misappropriation of public funds, official corruption, fraud and abuse of office.
According to the prosecution, he abused his position as managing director to unlawfully obtain more than ₦1.368 billion from NEXIM Bank, alongside other fraudulent transactions that formed the basis of the 49 counts.
The judgment is being described as one of the most severe sentences handed down in recent years in a corruption case involving a former top executive of a federal financial institution, reinforcing the EFCC’s stance on accountability in the management of public funds.
