The Court of Appeal sitting in Abuja has affirmed the conviction and 490-year prison sentence handed down to Robert Orya, former Managing Director of the Nigerian Export-Import Bank (NEXIM Bank), over a N2.4 billion fraud case.
In a unanimous ruling delivered on Tuesday, September 8, 2026, a three-member panel of the appellate court; led by Justice Muhammed Danjuma, sitting alongside Justices Ntong Festus Ntong and Ele Ejo Enenche; dismissed Orya’s appeal against the judgment of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) High Court, describing it as “devoid of any merit.”
Delivering the lead judgment, Justice Danjuma said: “I have considered all briefs filed by counsel and have gone through the record of the trial court and adopted it and the issues as formulated by this appellate court in resolving this appeal.” He affirmed the FCT High Court’s judgment of February 5, 2026, in charge number FSC/SC/CS/487/2021 in full.
Background of the case
Orya served as Managing Director of NEXIM Bank from 2009 to 2016. He was first appointed to the role on August 14, 2009, by the late President Umaru Musa Yar’Adua, and was reappointed on August 18, 2014, by former President Goodluck Jonathan.
In November 2021, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) arraigned him on a 49-count charge bordering on obtaining money by false pretences, forgery, and advance fee fraud, accusing him of abusing his position to obtain fraudulent loans from the bank he led.
On February 5, 2026, Justice F.E. Messiri of the FCT High Court found Orya guilty on all 49 counts, ruling that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt after calling seven witnesses at trial. The court sentenced him to 10 years’ imprisonment on each of the 49 counts; amounting to a cumulative 490 years. The sentences, however, were ordered to run concurrently.
Dissatisfied with his conviction, Orya approached the Court of Appeal seeking to have the verdict and sentence overturned. With Tuesday’s ruling, that bid has now failed, and the original judgment stands fully affirmed.
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