Justice O. M. Anyachebelu of the Anambra State High Court in Awka has convicted and sentenced Engineer Nnaemeka Nwawka, Managing Director of Orient Petroleum Resources Plc, and the Sage Nebefeife Foundation to 14 years imprisonment each for stealing, conversion, and gratification involving N25 billion.
The duo was found guilty on ten counts after a decade-long trial initiated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Count one alleged that between April 23 and December 21, 2012, Nwawka, Jude Anniekwe Cyril, and the foundation fraudulently converted N82,856,934 from Vhelbherg International Limited’s Standard Chartered Bank account (No. 0000777216) into the foundation’s First Bank account (No. 2017452111).
Count two detailed a similar conversion of N29,620,733 between January 8 and May 24, 2013, from the same source accounts.
The defendants pleaded not guilty, leading EFCC counsel Victor Ukagwu to present four witnesses and 24 documentary exhibits (P1 to P24). Evidence revealed Nwawka awarded contracts to allies’ firms, funneled payments back through his foundation, and withdrew funds for personal use.
Defence counsels U. N. Udechukwu, SAN (for Nwawka and the foundation), and E. S. C. Obiora, SAN (for Cyril), argued the contracts were legitimate, but Justice Anyachebelu ruled the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
The court acquitted Cyril but convicted Nwawka and the foundation, ordering them to refund N140,900,000 to Orient Petroleum Resources Plc.
The case stemmed from a petition by investor Chief Cletus Ibeto, who alleged Nwawka siphoned his N25 billion investment via suspicious contracts.
