In the aftermath of the 2019 general elections, a court in Nigeria has called for the arrest of two professors over allegations that include election fraud and vote tampering.
Professor Accused Of Altering Election Results
The first of two cases, the High Court in Ikot-Ikpene in Akwa Ibom State, southern Nigeria, arraigned Professor Peter Ogban, a Soil Science educator with the University of Uyo, who served as the Independent National Electoral Commission’s (INEC) Returning Officer for the 2019 Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District. Ogban was accused of fraudulently manipulating election results in Etim Ekpo and Onuk Anam collation centres.
In his statement, the Resident Electoral Commissioner of Akwa Ibom State, Mike Igini, revealed that Professor Ogban’s case is one out of several investigations being carried out by the commission in a bid to eradicate election fraud by dealing with perpetrators of the past. “The commission was unequivocal that there would be severe consequences against any, no matter their status, who engage in acts capable of undermining the commission’s efforts to give meaning and purpose to the ballot as the best means of the expression of the will of the people in a democracy,” he said.
Further details of the case also revealed that Professor Ogban had allegedly changed the outcome of the election by reducing the score of a leading candidate by 5,000 votes and increasing that of the losing candidate with the same votes. The University of Uyo professor pleaded not guilty to the charge and has been granted bail in the sum of N300,000 with two sureties in like sum, with the case adjourned till December 15, 2020.
Another Case Of Election Fraud
The same High Court in Akwa Ibom has also issued an arrest warrant for another professor, Ignatius Uduk over allegations of election fraud.
Professor Uduk who should have been arraigned alongside his fellow professor has allegedly been “on the run” according to INEC. A professor of Human Kinetics with the University of Uyo, Uduk was one of the ad-hoc officials recruited by INEC to assist in the conduct of the 2019 general elections, however, he has been accused of trying to rig the Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District election in favour of former senator, Godswill Akpabio, of the All Progressives Congress.
“Professor Ignatius Uduk, declared election results collated not by him, but by undisclosed individuals who only handed them to him to announce,” the Commission’s spokesperson said.
Despite a court order served through the vice-chancellor of the University of Uyo, on November 18, which directed him to appear in court, Professor Uduk failed to show up in court. His case has been adjourned to December 9, with the police tasked with the responsibility of producing the university educator by all means possible.
This story is part of our new series on Nigeria where we analyse electoral and political reform in the country ahead of the next general elections in 2023.
