A Nigerian professor, Peter Ogban, has become the first electoral officer to go to jail for election fraud.
On March 25, the High Court sitting in Akwa-Ibom State, sentenced him to three years in prison plus a fine of N100,000 for election fraud.
Ogban, a professor of Soil Science with the University of Calabar, was found guilty of election manipulation when he served as returning officer in the 2019 Akwa Ibom North-West Senatorial election.
Ogban had confessed to the crime of inflating the votes of the All Progressives Congress (APC) to give the party an unfair advantage over its main rival, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Nigeria’s current minister of the Niger Delta, Godswill Akpabio, was the APC candidate in the election. He was defeated by Chris Ekpeyong of the PDP.
This is the first time a Nigerian electoral officer would be sent to jail for election fraud.
Ogban was prosecuted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC).
Justice Augustine Odokwo refused a clemency plea from the convict, saying there was not much he could do other than to let the law take its course.
He said the prosecution was able to prove its case against Ogban, beyond any reasonable doubt.
He, therefore, sentenced him to three years imprisonment with a fine of N100,000.
