Witnesses in the trial of Professor Peter Ogban, a lecturer at the University of Uyo, told the Akwa Ibom State High Court sitting in Ikot-Ekpene that votes deducted from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 Akwa Ibom North-West senatorial election were added to those of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Senate President Godswill Akpabio.
Despite the manipulation, the rigging was not sufficient to secure victory for Akpabio, who had first been elected Senator for Akwa Ibom North-West in 2015 but lost the 2019 contest.
He later reclaimed the seat in the 2023 general election. Between 2019 and 2022, Akpabio served as Minister for Niger Delta Affairs before resigning to return to the Senate. He was also Governor of Akwa Ibom State from 2007 to 2015.
In March 2021, the High Court sentenced Ogban to three years’ imprisonment for two counts of manipulation and falsification of election results.
Last Wednesday, the Court of Appeal sitting in Calabar, Cross River, upheld the conviction and three-year prison sentence of Ogban for manipulating and announcing falsified results in the 2019 Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial District election.
The appellate court, in its ruling, affirmed the earlier judgment of the High Court in Ikot Ekpene, Akwa Ibom State, which found Ogban guilty of electoral fraud.
The court strongly condemned his actions, noting the gravity of his misconduct as a university professor entrusted with the integrity of the electoral process.
Ogban, who served as the returning officer in the 2019 senatorial election, was prosecuted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) for electoral malpractice. The charges included manipulation of results from Etim Ekpo and Oruk Anam local government areas to favour Akpabio, the APC candidate. Ogban’s trial began in November 2020 and concluded with his conviction.
During the trial, two witnesses — John Enoidem and Itemobong Ekaidem — who served as collation officers for Oruk Anam and Etim Ekpo respectively, testified that the results announced by Ogban differed from those they had submitted.
Enoidem told the court that in Oruk Anam, his collated result showed the APC had scored 10,534 votes and the PDP 25,123. However, the declared result listed the APC with 15,534 votes and the PDP with 20,123 — a clear manipulation that subtracted 5,000 votes from the PDP and added 5,000 to the APC.
Similarly, Dr Ekaidem testified that in Etim Ekpo, his figures showed the APC polled 2,671 votes while the PDP garnered 6,603. Ogban, however, declared that the APC had 5,671 votes and the PDP 3,306 — another substantial alteration.
Presiding judge Justice Augustine Odokwo ruled that the prosecution had proved its case beyond a reasonable doubt and sentenced Ogban to three years in prison for electoral fraud.
Despite Ogban’s conviction, Akpabio and some of his allies continue to claim that the 2019 election was rigged against him.
In a recent statement, Akpabio insisted that Ogban never worked for him during the 2019 elections, stressing that his claims were unfounded, spurious, malicious and intended to tarnish his image.
Akpabio claimed that he was a victim of fraudulent electoral manipulation in Akwa Ibom Northwest on February 23, 2019.
A statement by Akpabio’s Special Assistant on Media and Communication, Anietie Ekong read partly: “For the umpteenth time, just like I did when Senator Godswill Akpabio was the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, the claim that the jailed INEC Electoral Officer, Prof. Peter Ogban, was convicted for rigging election in favour of the All Progressives Congress (APC) is unfounded, spurious, malicious and intended to tarnish the image of the President of the Senate.
“Contrarily, Akpabio was a victim of the fraudulent manipulation of the election of Akwa Ibom North- West Senatorial District held on Feb. 23, 2019.
“He is vindicated that the perpetrators of the electoral fraud are being brought to justice, at last the chickens are coming home to roost.
“In due time, we believe all the conspirators will be brought to justice as Ogban, either through the judiciary or divine intervention.
“Akpabio had since moved on to become the Senate President and would not be distracted by baseless and unfounded reports by hatchet men and mischief makers.”
One of the other prominent voices pushing this narrative is Ata Ikiddeh, a former aide to Akpabio who now resides in London. In a Facebook post on February 15, 2025, Ikiddeh falsely alleged that Ogban rigged the election in favour of Akpabio’s opponent, Chris Ekpenyong of the PDP, and claimed a conspiracy involving the then-Resident Electoral Commissioner, Mike Igini.
These claims were debunked by Premium Times, which fact-checked the assertions and confirmed through court documents that Ogban was convicted in March 2021 for rigging the election in favour of Akpabio — not Ekpenyong.
Akpabio nonetheless repeated the debunked claim, including at a January 2023 campaign rally in Oruk Anam where he told supporters: “You people voted overwhelmingly for me, but some people colluded to rob me of my victory. The professor who was used to rob me of that victory in 2019 is now in jail.”
Also, on February 5, 2025, another academic, Professor Ignatius Uduk of the University of Uyo, was convicted for electoral fraud.
Uduk was found guilty of publishing false results and committing perjury during the 2019 Essien Udim State Constituency election, in which he served as the returning officer. The election was won by APC candidate Nse Ntuen, a known ally of Akpabio.
Justice Bassey Nkanang, who presided over Uduk’s case, acquitted him of announcing false results but convicted him on the remaining two charges. Uduk pleaded for leniency, citing it as his first offence and appealing for either a fine or state pardon.
“This is my first offence. I am appealing to the court to give me a soft landing either by fine or state pardon,” the professor, who was brought to the court in a wheelchair, told the judge.
“At 70, I am going to prison. I was a professor in 2005, but the university forcefully retired me in 2020 because of this case,” the professor said, begging the court to pardon him.
