From Aniekan Aniekan, Calabar
The Court of Appeal in Calabar, on Wednesday, April 30, upheld the conviction of Professor Peter Ogban for electoral fraud committed during the 2019 Akwa Ibom North-West senatorial election.
Ogban, a professor of soil physics at the University of Calabar, was convicted in 2021 by the Akwa Ibom State High Court in Ikot Ekpene for manipulating election results.
The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) prosecuted Ogban on three counts: announcing false election results, publishing falsified results, and perjury. Justice Augustine Odokwo, presiding over the initial trial, described the case as novel, stating that the prosecution proved its case beyond reasonable doubt.
Ogban’s appeal at the Calabar Division of the Court of Appeal was dismissed, affirming his three-year prison sentence and N100,000 fine.