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The trial of a Nigerian professor accused of election fraud was on Thursday stalled at a State Excessive Courtroom in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State because of a change of counsel.
Ignatius Uduk, a professor of Human Kinetics on the College of Uyo is being prosecuted by the Impartial Nationwide Electoral Fee (INEC) for the alleged illegal era of election outcomes through the 2019 common elections.
The prosecution counsel, Clement Onwuenweunor, introduced his look shortly after the case was referred to as.
A brand new defence counsel, George Ezeugwu, additionally introduced his look and advised the court docket he was taking on the case from Abasiodiong Ekpenyong, the previous defence counsel.
Mr Ezeugwu, who mentioned he was briefed on Tuesday, advised the court docket he couldn’t get the case file from Mr Ekpenyong. He utilized for data of court docket proceedings and an adjournment to allow him to review the case.
The prosecution, Mr Onwuenweunor, SAN, noticed that the court docket had advised the surety to the defendant through the penultimate listening to that the following continuing “should not be scuttled on account {that a} new lawyer was coming to take over the matter.”
He, subsequently, prayed the court docket to foreclose the case since “the defendant had already referred to as two witnesses and tendered paperwork by them,” including that the litigation has to finish.
The trial decide, Bassey Nkanang, after listening to from each counsels, adjourned the matter to 21 February for the conclusion of the defence however warned that the court docket would award a punitive value in opposition to the defence in the event that they fail to proceed.
Addressing reporters outdoors the court docket, the prosecution vowed to use for a foreclosures of the case – asking the court docket to shut the case in opposition to the defendant in order that the matter may be adjourned for submitting of ultimate written addresses if the defendant repeated the excuse on the brand new date.
The prosecution, PREMIUM TIMES learnt had closed its case on 27 January final yr.
The defence counsel declined to deal with reporters outdoors the court docket.
Backstory
Mr Uduk was an ad-hoc official of INEC and the returning officer for the Essien Udim State Constituency election in 2019.
He was first arraigned in December 2020 after an arrest warrant was issued on him the earlier month over repeated failures to seem for the graduation of trial.
The professor pleaded not responsible to the three-count cost, which incorporates the illegal era of election outcomes and mendacity beneath oath slammed on him by INEC.
Throughout the trial, the defendant, Mr Uduk, had by his former counsel, Mr Ekpenyong, accused the decide of bias and requested him to withdraw from the case, a improvement that precipitated the decide to return the case file to the State Chief Decide, who reassigned the case to him (similar decide) for the continuation of trial.
On the resumption of trial in October final yr, Mr Uduk collapsed within the dock, whereas the prosecution was cross-examining one of many witnesses. The event compelled the court docket to go on a recess earlier than adjourning, whereas members of the family moved the professor to an undisclosed location, Day by day Publish reported.
One other professor, Peter Ogban, equally accused of election fraud in Akwa Ibom, was convicted and sentenced to a few years imprisonment in 2021.
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