The Court of Appeal sitting in Calabar has upheld the conviction and three-year prison sentence of Professor Peter Ogban, a university lecturer found guilty of falsifying election results during the 2019 general elections to benefit Senator Godswill Akpabio.
Ogban, a professor of soil science at the University of Calabar, served as the returning officer for the Akwa Ibom North-West senatorial district. He was convicted in 2021 by a State High Court in Uyo for manipulating vote counts in Oruk Anam and Etim Ekpo local government areas in favour of Akpabio, the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate at the time.
The appellate court, in its ruling delivered on Wednesday, affirmed the lower court’s judgment, which had found that Ogban deliberately altered results to confer an undue advantage on Akpabio, who had recently defected from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the APC.
Despite Ogban’s plea for leniency, the trial court, presided over by Justice Augustine Odokwo, ruled that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) had proven its case beyond reasonable doubt. The judge described the case as a significant milestone in the pursuit of electoral justice in Nigeria.
INEC, which prosecuted the case, revealed that about 5,000 fraudulent votes were added to the APC’s total in Oruk Anam. The election, though marred by violence, ultimately saw Akpabio lose to PDP candidate Chris Ekpenyong.
Although the conviction stemmed from a failed election bid, Akpabio returned to the political scene in 2023, won the senatorial seat, and currently serves as President of the Nigerian Senate.
