Appeal Court Upholds Conviction Of Professor Who Rigged Election For Akpabio
The Court of Appeal in Calabar, on Wednesday, upheld the conviction of Professor Peter Ogban, who was jailed in 2021 for rigging a senatorial election for the current Senate President, Godswill Akpabio.
The rigging happened in an election that the Akwa Ibom-born politician lost before he contested again in 2023, won the election, and was elected the Senate president.
Mr. Ogban, a professor of soil science at the University of Calabar and a returning officer in the 2019 general elections in Akwa Ibom North-West District, was jailed for three years by a State High Court in Uyo for announcing fake election results in two local government areas – Oruk Anam and Etim Ekpo – in Mr. Akpabio’s favour.
According to a lawyer who participated in the case at the appellate court, the Court of Appeal, apart from affirming Mr Ogban’s conviction and three-year jail term, frowned at his role as a university professor in the fraudulent manipulation of election results.
Ogban had told the trial court in Uyo how the election results were falsified to give the APC an unfair advantage over its main rival, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Olamilekan Adigun is a graduate of Mass Communication with years of experience in journalism embedded in uncovering human interest stories. He also prioritises accuracy and factual reportage of issues.
