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A High Court in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, on Thursday granted bail to Ignatius Uduk, a Nigerian professor who was jailed for three years for election fraud.
Mr Uduk, a professor of Human Kinetics at the University of Uyo was prosecuted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), on three charges: announcement of false election results, publication of false results, and perjury during the 2019 general elections in Essien Udim State Constituency where he served as the returning officer.
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The professor was INEC’s collation and returning officer for Essien Udim State Constituency in the 2019 general elections, where he falsified election results to the advantage of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Nse Ntuen.
The defence counsel, George Ezeugwu had told reporters shortly after the sentencing that he would study the judgement before taking the next step – to appeal against the judgement.
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Mr Uduk appeared in court for his conviction and sentencing after his earlier bail was revoked and a fresh bench warrant issued against him. He was brought to the court in a wheelchair.
At the bail hearing on Thursday, Mr Uduk expanded his defence counsels to include a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Kalu Umeh, and a former senator, Ita Enang, while Daniel Nwike represented INEC.
The court granted Mr Uduk N2 million bail and two sureties in the like sum. The sureties, the court said, must be residents within its jurisdiction.
Additionally, the professor is to deposit his international passport in the court and not travel outside the court’s jurisdiction within the duration of the bail.
Addressing reporters after his client was granted bail, Mr Enang said they were taking steps to fulfill the bail conditions.
Speaking to PREMIUM TIMES on the telephone on Thursday, Mr Enang said they have filed an appeal.
“We have appealed. The grounds of appeal are genuine and strong and are likely to succeed. We also relied on the professor’s medical report that he has to be alive to take his appeal,” he said.
Backstory
The professor was first arraigned in December 2020 after an arrest warrant was issued for him the previous month for repeated failures to appear in court for the commencement of his trial.
He had, on one occasion, collapsed at the dock and was rushed to a hospital for treatment.
The professor had pleaded not guilty to the three charges slammed on him by Nigeria’s election commission but, upon conviction, begged the judge for leniency, citing his old age (over 70) and his health condition.
His conviction and sentencing came four years after his colleague, Peter Ogban, a professor of Soil Science at the University of Calabar, was jailed for three years for rigging an election for Godswill Akpabio.
Mr Ogban, who has served his three-year sentence, was the INEC returning officer for the 2019 Akwa Ibom North-West District election, in which Christopher Ekpenyong, a former deputy governor of Akwa Ibom, defeated Mr Akpabio, now the Senate president.
Mr Ekpenyong was the Peoples Democratic Party candidate in the poll, while Mr Akpabio was the APC candidate.
Mr Ogban was convicted and jailed for falsifying the election result to help Mr Akpabio, but the Senate president has repeatedly disowned the professor.
Mike Igini, a former INEC resident electoral commissioner (REC) in Akwa Ibom, initiated both suits and secured Mr Ogban’s conviction before his (Igini) retirement from INEC in 2022 after serving his last five years as REC in Akwa Ibom.
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