The Court of Appeal sitting in Calabar has affirmed the conviction and three-year prison sentence of Professor Peter Ogban, a University of Calabar academic, for his role in manipulating the outcome of the 2019 senatorial election in Akwa Ibom North-West District in favour of now Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.

Prof. Ogban, a soil science professor and returning officer for the election, was first convicted in 2021 by a State High Court in Uyo for announcing falsified results in two local government areas—Oruk Anam and Etim Ekpo—thereby unlawfully inflating the vote tally of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Akpabio, at the expense of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).

The appellate court, in its judgment on Wednesday, not only upheld the original verdict but also condemned Ogban’s abuse of academic and professional trust, describing his actions as a betrayal of public confidence in the electoral process.

A lawyer involved in the appellate proceedings confirmed the ruling, while a former senior official of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) also verified the development.

During the original trial, INEC prosecuted Ogban, who admitted under oath to falsifying results and giving the APC an unfair advantage by adding approximately 5,000 fictitious votes in Oruk Anam. Despite his plea for leniency, the trial judge, Justice Augustine Odokwo, noted that the case was a “novel” one and insisted that the law must take its course.

The 2019 election saw the PDP candidate, Chris Ekpenyong, a former deputy governor of Akwa Ibom State, defeat Akpabio in an election marred by irregularities and violence. Akpabio later returned in 2023, contested again, and was declared winner, eventually emerging as President of the Nigerian Senate.

Ogban’s case adds to a growing list of electoral malpractice convictions involving academics. In a similar case, another professor, Ignatius Uduk of the University of Uyo, was convicted for election fraud. He was sentenced to three years in prison for announcing and publishing false results and committing perjury during the 2019 elections in Essien Udim State Constituency. Uduk had rigged the results in favour of Nse Ntuen, an APC candidate and Akpabio ally. He was recently granted bail.

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