Court Of Appeal Affirms Ex-NEXIM Bank MD Orya’s 490-Year Jail Term Over N2.4bn Fraud

The Court of Appeal in Abuja on Tuesday affirmed the conviction and 490-year imprisonment handed down to former Managing Director of the Nigeria Export-Import Bank, Robert Orya, over a N2.4bn fraud. A three-member panel led by Justice Muhammed Danjuma, alongside Justices Ntong Festus Ntong and Ele Ejo Enenche, unanimously dismissed Orya’s appeal against the judgment of the FCT High Court, Abuja.

A statement by EFCC spokesman Dele Oyewale said Justice Danjuma held that all issues raised in the appeal were resolved in favour of the EFCC and against Orya, describing the appeal as devoid of merit and affirming the trial court’s judgment delivered by Justice F.E. Messiri on February 5, 2026.

Orya was prosecuted by the EFCC after being arraigned in 2021 on a 49-count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretences, forgery and advance fee fraud involving N2.4bn. The trial court found him guilty on all counts, sentencing him to 10 years’ imprisonment on each — totalling 490 years, with the sentences to run concurrently.

Orya served as NEXIM Bank Managing Director from 2009 to 2016, having been appointed by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua and reappointed by former President Goodluck Jonathan in 2014.