A Nigerian professor who rigged a Senate election in favour of Godswill Akpabio will remain in prison, as the Court of Appeal in Calabar has confirmed his conviction and three-year jail sentence.
Professor Peter Ogban, a soil science lecturer at the University of Calabar, was the returning officer for the 2019 Senate election in Akwa Ibom North-West.
He was found guilty of announcing fake results to help Akpabio, who was then running under the All Progressives Congress (APC) after defecting from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Despite the manipulation, Akpabio still lost that election to PDP candidate Chris Ekpenyong.
Ogban was convicted in 2021 by a High Court in Uyo for adding about 5,000 false votes to the APC’s results in Oruk Anam and Etim Ekpo local government areas.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) prosecuted him, and during the trial, he admitted to helping the APC gain an unfair advantage.
The Court of Appeal, in its latest judgment, said Ogban’s actions were especially disgraceful because of his status as a university professor.
A lawyer involved in the case confirmed the court’s strong disapproval of the professor’s role in the fraud.
This case is part of a wider concern over electoral misconduct in Nigeria.
Another professor, Ignatius Uduk of the University of Uyo, was also jailed for three years for falsifying election results in favour of an APC candidate linked to Akpabio.
Although he was later granted bail, the courts have continued to take a firm stance on electoral fraud.
Godswill Akpabio, now Nigeria’s Senate President, later won a fresh Senate election in 2023 and rose to his current position.
