Court Of Appeal Upholds Conviction Of Professor Peter Ogban For Election Rigging In Favour Of Senator Akpabio.
The Court of Appeal in Calabar has upheld the conviction of Professor Peter Ogban, a lecturer at the University of Calabar, for rigging a senatorial election in favour of Senator Godswill Akpabio. Ogban, a professor of Soil Science, was sentenced to three years in prison by a State High Court in Uyo in 2021 for announcing fake election results.
The Court of Appeal not only affirmed Ogban’s conviction but also expressed dismay at his role as a university professor in the fraudulent manipulation of election results. Ogban had falsified election results to give the All Progressives Congress (APC) an unfair advantage over its main rival, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), in the 2019 general elections.
In one instance, Ogban added 5,000 fake votes to the APC’s score in Oruk Anam Local Government Area. The PDP candidate, Chris Ekpenyong, had initially won the election, but Akpabio later contested again in 2023 and won, becoming the Senate President.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) prosecuted Ogban in the landmark case. The court’s decision serves as a reminder of the importance of electoral integrity and the consequences of compromising the democratic process.
