A Federal Capital Territory High Court sitting in Abuja has sentenced Robert Orya, former Managing Director of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), to a cumulative 490 years in prison over a ₦2.4 billion fraud case.
Justice F.E. Messiri delivered the judgement on Thursday, February 5, 2026, after finding Orya guilty on all 49 counts of criminal breach of trust, fraud, and misappropriation brought against him by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC.
The court imposed a 10-year jail term on each count, amounting to a total of 490 years.
Confirming the conviction in a statement shared on its official X handle, the EFCC said the prosecution successfully proved its case against the former bank chief.
“The EFCC, today, February 5, 2026, secured the conviction of Robert Orya, a former Managing Director, Nigerian Import Export Bank, NEXIM (2011 to 2016), for a fraud of about ₦2.4 billion,” the statement read.
It added, “Orya, who was prosecuted by EFCC’s 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.”
Orya, who headed NEXIM Bank between 2011 and 2016, was accused of abusing his office by misappropriating bank funds and approving loans to entities that failed to repay, resulting in substantial financial losses to the institution. He consistently denied the allegations throughout the trial, which began several years ago.
In a related development, the EFCC also disclosed that Justice Dehinde Dipeolu of the Federal High Court sitting in Ikoyi, Lagos, had ordered the forfeiture of $20,000 and CFA 110,000 to the Federal Government of Nigeria.
According to the anti-graft agency, the sums were intercepted by operatives of the Nigerian Customs Service at the Seme Border in Badagry Local Government Area of Lagos State and subsequently handed over to the EFCC for investigation.
The conviction of Orya marks one of the most significant fraud judgements involving a former head of a federal financial institution in recent years.
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