By Kayode Sanni-Arewa
A High Court in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, on Wednesday, ordered the arrest of a Nigerian professor, accused of election fraud, for being absent during judgment.
Ignatius Uduk, a professor of Human Kinetics at the University of Uyo, is being prosecuted by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) on charges of perjury and announcing and publishing false results during the 2019 general elections in Essien Udim State Constituency, where he served as the returning officer.
The judge, Bassey Nkanang, adjourned the case for an hour after the defendant and his counsel failed to announce their appearance.
The prosecution counsel, Clement Onwuenweunor and an INEC official had announced their appearances in court.
When the hearing resumed, Justice Nkanang proceeded after a lawyer the judge asked to call the defence counsel informed the court that the lawyer said he was not feeling fine and had asked him to hold a brief for him if the judgment is taken today.
The lawyer, Ndifreke Inyangette, said the defence counsel communicated with him via a text message.
In his submission, the prosecution counsel prayed to the court to revoke the defendant’s bail and issue a fresh bench warrant for the professor.
Mr Inyangette said the court could deliver judgment. If convicted, sentencing can be taken at a later date.
He further informed the court that the defendant was ill, of which the judge admitted that the court was aware and had received medical reports.
Justice Nkanang, in his ruling, granted the relief of the prosecution counsel: he revoked the earlier bail granted to the defendant. He issued a fresh bench warrant before adjourning the case to 5 February for judgment.
Backstory
The professor was first arraigned in December 2020 after an arrest warrant was issued against him the previous month for repeated failures to appear for the commencement of the trial.
The professor had pleaded not guilty to the three charges slammed on him by the Nigeria electoral body.
The case has witnessed a series of delays because of several factors, including a change of defence counsel and the defendant’s collapsing in the dock during cross-examination.