An Anambra State High Court sitting in Awka has convicted and sentenced the Managing Director of Orient Petroleum Resources Plc, Engineer Nnaemeka Nwawka, and the Sage Nebefeife Foundation to 14 years imprisonment each for fraud amounting to N25 billion.
Justice O. M. Anyachebelu delivered the judgment after finding the defendants guilty on a 10-count charge bordering on stealing, conversion, and gratification.
According to the prosecution, Nwawka, alongside Jude Anniekwe Cyril and the registered trustees of Sage Nebefeife Foundation, fraudulently converted millions of naira transferred from Vhelbherg International Limited’s account with Standard Chartered Bank into the Foundation’s First Bank account.
Nnaemeka was found guilty and convicted on a two-count charge, which reads below;
“That you NNAEMEKA NWAWKA, JUDE ANNIEKWE CYRIL and THE REGISTERED TRUSTEES OF SAGE NEBEIFE FOUNDATION… fraudulently converted to your personal use the aggregate sum of N82,856,934… transferred from Vhelbherg International Limited… into the account of Sage Nebeife Foundation…”
“That you… fraudulently converted to your personal use the aggregate sum of N29,620,733… transferred from Vhelbherg International Limited… into the account of Sage Nebeife Foundation…”
The defendants pleaded not guilty, prompting a full trial that lasted ten years. Prosecution counsel, Victor Ukagwu, led four witnesses and tendered documentary evidence marked Exhibits P1 to P24.
The court heard how contracts were allegedly awarded to companies linked to Nwawka’s associate, with funds later funneled back through his Foundation for personal use.
Justice Anyachebelu held that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
“The prosecution has successfully established its case,” the court ruled, convicting the defendants accordingly.
Beyond the 14-year jail term, the court ordered Nwawka and his Foundation to refund N140.9 million to Orient Petroleum Resources Plc.
The case stemmed from a petition by investor Chief Cletus Ibeto, who alleged that he invested N25 billion into the company but that substantial funds were siphoned through suspicious contract awards and routed back via the Foundation.
The conviction marks a significant milestone in the EFCC’s prosecution of high-profile financial crimes in Nigeria.