The Court of Appeal sitting in Calabar, Cross River State, has affirmed the conviction and three-year prison sentence handed to Professor Peter Ogban for his role in falsifying election results during the 2019 Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District election to benefit Senator Godswill Akpabio.
In its ruling delivered on Wednesday, the appellate court upheld the earlier verdict of the High Court in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, which found Ogban guilty of electoral malpractice.
The court, in strong terms, denounced his conduct, emphasizing the seriousness of his actions, especially “as a university professor entrusted with the integrity of the electoral process.”
Ogban, a professor of Soil Physics at the University of Calabar, served as the returning officer in the senatorial election.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) prosecuted him after uncovering that he had manipulated results to favour Godswill Akpabio, then Minister of Niger Delta Affairs.
According to the court’s findings, Ogban deliberately inflated Akpabio’s votes and suppressed those of his opponent, Christopher Ekpenyong of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Akpabio, however, has consistently denied any connection to the fraudulent acts, insisting he was not involved in the manipulation.
The case stemmed from a broader probe led by the then Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) for INEC in Akwa Ibom, Barrister Mike Igini, who initiated the prosecution of two university professors, Peter Ogban and Ignatius Uduk, for tampering with and announcing falsified election results.
The Court of Appeal’s decision now firmly cements the conviction of Ogban as “one of the landmark outcomes” of that effort.
In a related development, another academic, Professor Ignatius Uduk of the University of Uyo, was sentenced in February by a State High Court in Uyo to three years’ imprisonment.
Uduk was found guilty of perjury and for publishing false results during the 2019 Essien Udim State Constituency election where he served as the returning officer.
Along with the prison sentence, he was fined N100,000.
The case marked the second major conviction of a Nigerian professor for electoral misconduct.
Uduk was first arraigned in December 2020 after evading multiple court summons.
He pleaded not guilty to the three charges brought against him by INEC.
The case suffered numerous adjournments due to various delays, including a change of defence counsel and an incident where the professor collapsed in court during cross-examination.
At one point in the proceedings, Uduk accused the trial judge of bias and requested that the judge recuse himself from the case, a request that was granted.
Ironically, the case was later reassigned to the same judge, who eventually concluded the trial.
