Court jails prof 36 months for electoral fraud

The Akwa Ibom State High Court 2 sitting in Ikot Ekpene, has found Professor Peter Ogban guilty of electoral fraud brought against him by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).

The commission had taken Ogban to court on a two count charge of fraudulently tampering with the election results in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC) during the 2019 general elections in Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District.

Ogban who acted as the Collation/Returning Officer during the National Assembly elections, was standing trial for allegedly manipulating and falsifying the scores of election results in Oruk Anam and Etim Ekpo local government areas in favour of the APC.

In his ruling, the Presiding Judge, Justice Augustine Odokwo, sentenced the accused to 36 months imprisonment with the option to pay a fine of N100,000 for count 1 and 2 respectively, after the accused had pleaded for leniency.

Prof Ogban had pleaded for mercy on the premise that he has dependents including a 90-year-old mother to take care of, adding that he was a respectable member of his community and a very valuable and sought-after lecturer in the Department of Soil Science, in the universities of Uyo and Calabar.

Counsel to the defendant, Anthony Ekpe, had also prayed the court to pardon the accused, saying the act for which Ogban was found guilty had no effect on the said elections.

But upon the judgment of the court, Ekpe said the accused will file for an appeal.

Also speaking, counsel to INEC, Clement Onwenwunor, applauded the court for the novel ruling on the electoral fraud case, saying, “the court judgment is commendable.”