Crime

Nigerian Professor bags 3 years for election fraud

A Nigerian Professor of Human Kinetics at the University of Uyo, Ignatius Uduk who served as the returning officer during the 2019 general elections in Essien Udim State Constituency has been sentenced to three years in prison for perjury and publishing false election results.

Penpushing reports that Uduk was prosecuted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on charges of perjury and announcing and publishing false results, while his conviction and sentencing came four years after his colleague, Prof Peter Ogban, of Soil Science at the University of Calabar, was jailed for three years for a similar offence.

NNPC

The Professor of Human Kinetics at the University of Uyo, (Uduk) was first arraigned in December 2020 after an arrest warrant was issued on him a previous month over repeated failures to appear in court for the commencement of his trial.

Penpushing further reports that he had pleaded not guilty to the three charges brought against him by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), while the case witnessed a series of delays because of several factors, including a change of defence counsel and the defendant collapsing in the dock during cross-examination by the prosecution counsel.

The defendant, at one point, accused the judge of bias and asked the judge to recuse himself, a relief the judge granted, hence, the case file was returned to the state chief judge, who reassigned the matter to the same judge for continuation.

Penpushing also reports that the judgment was scheduled for January 29, 2025 but was adjourned till Wednesday, February 5, 2025) after the defendant and his lawyer failed to appear in court on health grounds.

The judge, Justice Bassey Nkanang, revoked the Professor’s earlier bail and issued a fresh arrest warrant on him, following the prosecution counsel’s request, hence, he (Uduk) decked in brown cassock, was brought into the court in a wheelchair shortly before the prosecution and defence counsels announced their appearance.

Penpushing reports that the judge delivering judgment on Wednesday, held that the prosecution counsel, Clement Onwuewunor, has discharged the burden of proof that the defendant published false election results when he served as a collation/returning officer.

The judge citing Section 123 (4) of the 2010 Electoral Act as amended, which states that “Any person who announces or publishes an election result knowing same to be false or which is at variance with the signed certificate of return commits an offence and is liable on conviction to 36 months imprisonment,”

Penpushing further reports that the judge held that the prosecution had established his case against the defendant, while in the third charge of perjury, the judge cited Section 118 of the Criminal Code Law, CAP 38, Laws of Akwa Ibom State 2000, where the offence is defined as: “Any person in any judicial proceeding or for the purpose of instituting any judicial proceeding, knowingly gives false testimony touching any matter which is material to any question then depending on that proceeding, or intended to be raised in that proceeding, is guilty of an offence which is called perjury.”

The judge discharged and acquitted the defendant on count one—announcement of false election result—but convicted him on counts two and three: publication of false election results and perjury, and thereafter sentenced him to three years for count two and the same prison terms for count three, with both terms to run concurrently.

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