Appeal Court Upholds Conviction of Professor Ogban for Election Rigging in Favour of Akpabio

The Court of Appeal in Calabar has upheld the conviction of Professor Peter Ogban, a University of Calabar lecturer, for manipulating the results of the 2019 Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial election in favour of Senate President Godswill Akpabio.

Professor Ogban, who served as the returning officer during the poll, was found guilty of altering election results in Oruk Anam and Etim Ekpo local government areas to benefit Akpabio, who was the candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) at the time.

The appellate court confirmed the three-year prison sentence and N100,000 fine earlier imposed by the Akwa Ibom State High Court in 2021. Ogban was convicted under Section 123 of the Electoral Act, 2010 (as amended) for engaging in electoral malpractice.

The court found that Ogban had deliberately reduced votes belonging to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidate, Chris Ekpenyong, by 5,000 and added the same number to Akpabio’s tally — manipulating the outcome without adjusting the total valid votes.

It will be recalled that the Court of Appeal, in a 2019 judgment, had nullified parts of the senatorial election over irregularities and ordered a rerun in Essien Udim. Akpabio did not participate in the rerun, paving the way for Ekpenyong’s victory.