Justice Bassey Nkanang of the Akwa Ibom High Court in Uyo, on Wednesday sentenced one Professor Ignatius Uduk of the University of Uyo UNIUYO, to three years imprisonment for electoral fraud during the 2019 general elections.
Uduk, a Professor of Human Kinetics, served as a Collation/Returning officer for Essien Udim State Constituency in March, 2019. He has been standing trial in a three-count charge of announcing false results, publishing false results and perjury.
The trial judge acquitted the Prof on count one but found him guilty of counts two and three. He, therefore, sentenced accused to three years on each of the two counts.
INEC, under Mike Igini as Resident Electoral Commissioner (REC) Akwa Ibom state, had opened prosecution against Uduk, on a three-count amended charge of abandonment of duties, publishing/announcing of fake election result scores and lying on oath.
While another UNIUYO Professor, Peter Ogban who was also arraigned by INEC under similar circumstances, was convicted and sentenced to three years in prison, the trial of Professor Uduk suffered repeated adjournments on the part of the Defendant, resulting in a change of the presiding judge.
Of the three charges brought against him by INEC, Justice Bassey Nkanang of Uyo High Court 5 acquitted Uduk, on Count 1 but convicted and sentenced him to three years imprisonment each on Counts 2 and 3. The sentences are to run concurrently.
The judgment marked the end of a five-year legal battle by INEC against electoral fraud in the 2019 general elections in Akwa Ibom state.
Professor Uduk who appeared on the judgment day on a wheelchair told the court that Uniuyo had forcefully retired him in 2020, over the case.
“My services were terminated by the University of Uyo and I was forcefully retired in 2020. Also because of this case, my salary was stopped since 2020. So, I am appealing to this court to give me soft landing,” he had pleaded
“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.
Harkening to the professor’s leniency plea, the judge reduced the prison terms to three years each for both charges and ruled that they will run concurrently beginning Wednesday, 5 February, when the judgement is given.