A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has sentenced a former Managing Director of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), Robert Orya, to a cumulative 490 years imprisonment over a fraud case involving about ₦2.4 billion.
Orya, who served as Managing Director of the bank between 2011 and 2016, was convicted on 49 counts of financial misconduct brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Delivering judgment on February 5, 2026, Justice F. E. Messiri found the former bank chief guilty on all counts and sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment on each count, to run cumulatively.
The EFCC prosecution team, led by Samuel Ugwuegbulam, successfully proved that Orya abused his position to fraudulently obtain funds from the bank.
Investigations into the case date back several years. In 2019, the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) accused the former NEXIM management of corruption and financial irregularities. A forensic audit ordered by the NEXIM board—then chaired by former CBN Deputy Governor Joseph Nnanna—reportedly uncovered serious breaches in loan disbursement procedures.
According to the EFCC, Orya allegedly misappropriated over ₦1.4 billion and incorporated a company, Luxurium Leisure Service Limited, using fictitious and unauthorised identities. The company was allegedly used to access loans from NEXIM which were never repaid.
Orya had consistently denied the allegations, describing them as “wild, inappropriate, unacceptable and untrue.”
He was removed from office on February 16, 2016, by former President Muhammadu Buhari, and was later arraigned by the EFCC in November 2021 before an FCT High Court in Abuja.
The conviction is being viewed as a major development in Nigeria’s ongoing fight against corruption in the public sector.
