Court sentences Nigerian Professor to three years in prison for election fraud

An Akwa Ibom State High Court Holden in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, Southern Nigeria, has sentenced Professor Ignatius Uduk, a lecturer in Human Kinetics at the University of Uyo, to three years in prison.

The university don was convicted for perjury and publishing false election results during the 2019 general elections.

The verdict was delivered on Wednesday, February 5, 2025.

Background of the Case:
Professor Uduk was prosecuted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for his role as the returning officer during the 2019 elections in the Essien Udim State Constituency.

He was accused of announcing and publishing false results, thereby undermining the integrity of the electoral process.

His trial began in December 2020, following an arrest warrant issued after he repeatedly failed to appear in court.

The case is reminiscent of a similar incident involving Professor Peter Ogban, a Soil Science lecturer at the University of Calabar, who was also jailed for three years in 2021 for falsifying election results during the 2019 Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District election.

Professor Ogban, who has since served his sentence, was convicted for manipulating results in favor of Godswill Akpabio, the current Senate President, who was then the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate.

Akpabio, however, has consistently denied any involvement in the fraud.

The Trial
Professor Uduk’s trial was marred by numerous delays, including repeated absence from court which led to the issuance of an arrest warrant, a change of defense counsel midway through the trial, an incident where the defendant collapsed in the dock during cross-examination by the prosecution, and allegations of judicial bias by the defendant, which prompted the judge to recuse himself temporarily.

The case was later reassigned to the same judge by the state’s chief judge.

The judgment, initially scheduled for January 29, 2025, was postponed to February 5 after the defendant and his lawyer failed to appear in court, citing health reasons.

In response, the presiding judge, Justice Bassey Nkanang, revoked Uduk’s bail and issued a fresh arrest warrant.

The Judgement:
On the day of the verdict, Professor Uduk was brought into the courtroom in a wheelchair, dressed in a brown cassock.

After hearing arguments from both the prosecution and defense, Justice Nkanang delivered his ruling.

The judge acquitted Uduk on the first charge of announcing false election results but convicted him on the second and third charges: publishing false election results and perjury.

He sentenced the professor to three years in prison for each of the two charges, with the terms to run concurrently.

In his ruling, Justice Nkanang stated that the prosecution, led by Clement Onwuewunor, had successfully proven beyond reasonable doubt that Uduk had published false results while serving as a collation and returning officer during the election.

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