Olusegun Ariyo
The Court of Appeal, Calabar Division, has upheld the conviction and three-year prison sentence of Professor Peter Ogban, a University of Calabar (UNICAL) academic, for electoral fraud committed in the 2019 Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District election, which led to the emergence of the current Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
In a landmark ruling delivered on Wednesday, the appellate court affirmed the earlier judgment of the Akwa Ibom High Court in Ikot Ekpene, which found Ogban guilty of manipulating and announcing falsified election results.
Accordingly, the court condemned his conduct, citing the grave implications of such acts by someone entrusted with safeguarding the integrity of the electoral process.
The conviction came after a rigorous investigation led by the then Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) of INEC in Akwa Ibom State, Barrister Mike Igini.
Under his leadership, the commission pursued the prosecution of two university professors, Ogban and Ignatius Uduk, for their roles in election result manipulation during the 2019 general election.
Like Ogban, Uduk was handed three years in prison for perjury and publishing false election results during the 2019 general elections.
Meanwhile, Akpabio has consistently denied any involvement in the electoral malpractice.
The Senate President is yet to react to the appellate court ruling as of the time of filing this report.
