The managing director of Orient Petroleum Resources Plc, Nnaemeka Nwawka, Jude Anniekwe Cyril, and the Sage Nebefeife Foundation were all found guilty of fraud involving around N25 billion and sentenced to 14 years in jail by Justice O. M. Anyachebelu of the Anambra State High Court. Their ten-day trial culminated in a guilty verdict for theft, conversion, and pleasure.
Ten counts of financial crimes led to the defendants’ conviction. That you, Nnaemeka Cyril, and the registered trustees of Sage Nebefeife Foundation, deceitfully appropriated the total amount of N29,620,733 for your own benefit was one element of the accusation.
A second count said that between 2012 and 2013, they changed “the aggregate sum of N29,620,733” in comparable deals in Anambra State.
They had pleaded not guilty when the charges were read, prompting the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), through its counsel, to proceed with full prosecution.
Four witnesses and a stack of documents were submitted by the commission throughout the trial to prove that contracts were allocated to associates’ businesses and that the money went to a foundation associated with Nwawka.
The court ruled that Nwawka and his foundation must return N140.9 million to Orient Petroleum Resources Plc since the prosecution established its case beyond a reasonable doubt.
Based on the information presented, the court found that there was a systematic attempt to divert business finances through dubious contract awards and money transfers.
Cletus Ibeto, an investor who supposedly put N25 billion into the business but had suspicions that “suspicious and bogus contracts” given to affiliated companies had syphoned off substantial amounts of money, filed a petition that sparked the case.