Anambra Court Jails Orient Petroleum MD, One Other 14 Years for N25billion Fraud
Awka, Anambra State – February 28, 2026
Justice O. M. Anyachebelu of the Anambra State High Court sitting in Awka has convicted and sentenced Engineer Nnaemeka Nwawka, Managing Director of , and the to fourteen years imprisonment each for offences bordering on stealing, conversion and gratification amounting to N25 billion.
The defendants were found guilty on a ten-count charge after a protracted trial that lasted ten years. They had earlier pleaded not guilty when the charges were read to them, prompting the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), through its counsel Victor Ukagwu, to proceed to full trial.
The Charges
Count one of the charge stated:
“That you NNAEMEKA NWAWKA, JUDE ANNIEKWE CYRIL and THE REGISTERED TRUSTEES OF SAGE NEBEIFE FOUNDATION sometimes between 23rd April to 21st December, 2012 in Anambra State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court fraudulently converted to your personal use the aggregate sum of N82,856,934 (Eighty Two Million, Eight Hundred and Fifty Six Thousand, Nine Hundred and Thirty Four Naira) only which sum was transferred from Vhelbherg International Limited company account domiciled in Standard Chartered Bank account No. 0000777216 into the account of Sage Nebeife Foundation domiciled in First Bank account No. 2017452111.”
Count two read:
“That you NNAEMEKA NWAWKA, JUDE ANNIEKWE CYRIL and THE REGISTERED TRUSTEES OF SAGE NEBEIFE FOUNDATION sometimes between 8th January to 24th May, 2013 in Anambra State within the jurisdiction of this Honourable Court fraudulently converted to your personal use the aggregate sum of N29,620,733 (Twenty Nine Million, Six Hundred and Twenty Thousand, Seven Hundred and Thirty Three Naira) only which sum was transferred from Vhelbherg International Limited company account domiciled in Standard Chartered Bank account No. 0000777216 into the account of Sage Nebeife Foundation domiciled in First Bank account No. 2017452111.”
Prosecution’s Case
During the trial, the EFCC called four witnesses and tendered several documentary exhibits marked P1 to P24, all of which were admitted in evidence. The prosecution demonstrated how Nwawka allegedly ensured that contracts were awarded to companies owned by his associates from Orient Petroleum Resources Plc.
Evidence before the court showed that funds were paid to these companies and subsequently returned to him through the Sage Nebefeife Foundation. The court heard that the funds were later withdrawn and used for personal purposes.
Counsel to the first and third defendants, U. N. Udechukwu, SAN, and counsel to the second defendant, E.S.C. Obiora, SAN, held briefs for their clients and presented arguments on how the contracts were executed. However, Justice Anyachebelu held that the prosecution had proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
Conviction and Sentencing
In his judgment, Justice Anyachebelu convicted Nwawka and his Foundation and sentenced them to fourteen years imprisonment each. The court also ordered the convicts to refund the sum of N140,900,000 (One Hundred and Forty Million, Nine Hundred Thousand Naira) to Orient Petroleum Resources Plc.
The conviction followed a petition submitted to the EFCC by Chief Cletus Ibeto, an investor in the company, who alleged that he invested N25 billion in Orient Petroleum Resources Plc. He claimed that Nwawka diverted substantial portions of the funds through the award of suspicious and inflated contracts to associates, with the proceeds allegedly funneled back through the Sage Nebefeife Foundation.
The court’s ruling brings to a close a decade-long legal battle and underscores the judiciary’s stance on financial crimes and corporate misconduct in Anambra State.
