The Court of Appeal in Abuja has upheld the 490-year prison sentence handed down to former Managing Director of the Nigeria Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), Robert Orya, over a N2.4 billion fraud case.
A three-member panel led by Justice Muhammed Danjuma unanimously dismissed Orya’s appeal challenging the judgment of the Federal Capital Territory High Court.
The other members of the panel were Justices Ntong Festus Ntong and Ele Ejo Enenche.
In its judgment, the appellate court held that Orya’s appeal lacked merit and affirmed the decision delivered by Justice F.E. Messiri on February 5, 2026.
Orya was prosecuted by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission after being arraigned in 2021 on a 49-count charge involving obtaining money by false pretences, forgery and advance fee fraud.
The trial court found him guilty on all 49 counts after ruling that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt. He was sentenced to 10 years’ imprisonment on each count, amounting to 490 years.
However, the sentences are to run concurrently, meaning the effective prison term is 10 years.
Orya served as NEXIM Bank’s managing director from 2009 to 2016. He appealed the conviction and sentence, seeking to have the judgment overturned, but the Court of Appeal rejected his challenge and upheld the trial court’s decision.
