Court Sentences UNIUYO Professor to Three Years in Prison for Electoral Fraud

A High Court in Akwa Ibom State has sentenced Professor Ignatius Uduk of the University of Uyo (UNIUYO) to three years in prison for electoral fraud during the 2019 general elections.

Uduk, a Professor of Human Kinetics, served as the Collation and Returning Officer for the Essien Udim State Constituency elections in March 2019. He was tried on three charges: announcing false results, publishing false results, and perjury. While the court acquitted him of the first charge, he was found guilty of the remaining two and sentenced to three years on each count. The sentences will run concurrently.

The Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), under then-Resident Electoral Commissioner Mike Igini, prosecuted Uduk for abandoning his duties, announcing fake election results, and lying under oath. His trial faced multiple delays due to defense adjournments, eventually leading to a change in the presiding judge.

This case follows a similar conviction of another UNIUYO professor, Peter Ogban, who was also sentenced to three years for electoral offenses. With this ruling, the court has concluded a five-year legal battle over election malpractice in the 2019 Akwa Ibom elections.