The Court of Appeal in Abuja has affirmed the conviction and 490-year prison sentence handed down against Robert Orya, former Managing Director of the Nigeria Export-Import Bank (NEXIM), over a N2.4 billion fraud case.A three-member panel led by Justice Muhammed Danjuma, alongside Justices Ntong Festus Ntong and Ele Ejo Enenche, delivered a unanimous ruling on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, dismissing Orya’s appeal for lacking merit.
Justice Danjuma said the panel had reviewed the trial court’s record and all issues raised by counsel, and resolved them in favour of the respondent. He affirmed the judgment of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court delivered on February 5, 2026, in charge number FSC/SC/CS/487/2021.
Orya was arraigned in 2021 by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a 49-count charge involving obtaining money by false pretences, forgery and advance fee fraud. Justice F.E. Messiri of the FCT High Court had found him guilty on all counts and sentenced him to 10 years on each count, to run concurrently, totaling 490 years.
Orya led NEXIM Bank from 2009 to 2016. He was first appointed by the late President Umaru Yar’Adua on August 14, 2009, and reappointed by former President Goodluck Jonathan on August 18, 2014.
