Nigerian court upholds 10-year prison sentence for former NEXIM chief Roberts Orya
The Court of Appeal in Abuja, Nigeria, dismissed the appeal of former Managing Director of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank, NEXIM, Roberts Orya and upheld his 10-year prison sentence. The decision was reported by Premium Times Nigeria.
Appeal dismissed unanimously
A three-judge panel chaired by Mohammed Danjuma upheld the ruling of the High Court of the Federal Capital Territory in Abuja dated February 5, 2026. The panel also included Ntong Festus Ntong and Ele Ejo Enenche.
The trial court found Orya guilty on all 49 counts and sentenced him to 10 years in prison on each count. However, the court ordered the sentences to run concurrently, meaning the imposed punishment is 10 years in prison.
In the lead judgment, Danjuma stated that the court had considered the documents submitted by the parties and the case materials. According to him, all four key issues raised in the appeal were decided against the appellant, and the complaint was found to be without merit.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Essence of the charges
Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) brought 49 charges against Orya in 2021, including obtaining money by false pretence, document forgery and advance-fee fraud. According to the EFCC, he used his position to divert 2.4 billion naira in NEXIM funds through a series of fraudulent loan transactions.
Among the incidents cited in the charges was a 488 million naira loan transferred to Treasure Mix Construction Limited. Prosecutors alleged that the payment was made on the pretext that the directors of Luxurium Leisure Services Limited had applied for the loan and were its beneficiaries. Another incident concerned 630 million naira, which, according to the EFCC, was transferred under similar circumstances.
Orya headed NEXIM Bank from 2009 to 2016. The bank is a state financial institution established in 1991 to support and finance Nigeria’s non-oil export sector.
