The travails of Prof Uduk’s family

The family of Prof. Ignatius Uduk, the University of Uyo professor of human kinetics convicted of electoral fraud last week, says they’ve been financially and emotionally exhausted by the five-year trial of their father. Unwana Willie, the eldest child and Barr. Ruth Uduk, the fifth of Prof Uduk’s six children spoke to me on the travails of the family arising from their father’s trial and convictions.

Their problems started even before the trial began. The university had stopped paying his father’s salary as soon as he was arraigned in 2019, and this threw the family into a severe financial crisis. ‘’We have been drained both financially and emotionally. We financed this case all by ourselves in the past five years; this is the worst affliction that has visited us since the death of my mother in 1989,’’ said Barr. Uduk.

Prof Uduk’s wife died 35 years ago and he has not remarried, preferring to devote time to bringing up his six children who are all grownups now, pursuing different careers. But Barr Uduk, 40, says she and her siblings would do everything possible to get him out of jail. ‘’He’s currently in prison in Uyo. We shall be filing an appeal against the conviction very soon; and even before then, we shall file for bail pending appeal,’’ says Barr. Uduk.

The case had also taken a toll on Prof Uduk himself. His health had deteriorated in the early years of the trial to the extent that he fainted in court in one occasion. She said that the summons were not served on her father personally as the law stipulates in criminal matters; rather it was the University of Uyo that was served; and because of this, her father did not hear of the matter until a bench warrant was issued. ‘’I was coming from work one day when I got a call that a bench warrant had been issued against my father. I rushed to the court and that’s when we learned of the case,’’ she said.

Since his conviction, Prof Uduk, 73, has become very ill, suffering from hypertension while his haemorrhoid condition has worsened. The eldest daughter, Mrs Unwana Willie, a civil servant, says her father has been bleeding in prison due to serious inflammation from haemorrhoid since February 5 when he was convicted. ‘’We don’t want our father to die in prison. Our father did not commit any crime’’, she cried.

Prof Uduk was prosecuted on three charges: announcement of false election results; publication of false results and perjury pertaining to the 2019 state house of assembly election in Akwa Ibom state. He was the returning officer for the Essien Udim state constituency election – Senator Godswill Akpabio’s state constituency. In June 2021, another university lecturer, Prof Peter Ogban of the Soil Science Department, University of Calabar, was sentenced to three years in prison for fraudulent manipulation of election results; publishing and announcing false results during the 2019 senatorial election which was contested by Senator Godswill Akpabio (APC) and Chris Ekpenyong (PDP).

The then resident electoral commissioner in Akwa Ibom state, Mike Igini, had claimed that Akpabio and his party, APC had engaged in electoral fraud and vowed to prosecute the two professors who served as returning officers in the two elections. Although Senator Akpabio was not charged, the conviction of Uduk last week spawned widespread discussions in Akwa Ibom state, with many claiming that the two professors were sympathetic to Akpabio and that the senate president ought to reach out to the families of the two professors and extend a hand of compassion to them.

I raised this with Barr. Uduk and she contemplated the question for a moment before answering: ‘’My father did not work for Akpabio, and so that question does not arise; my father worked for INEC; we have not heard from anybody. We have been struggling on our own to fight this case,’’ she said in an emotion-laden voice.

Barr. Uduk says her father did not commit any crime. ‘’My father is only a victim of circumstance; caught in the crossfire between Mike Igini and some politicians. But it shall not stand.’’ Prof. Uduk’s eldest daughter, Unwana Willie, said her father is an upright man who had never been found wanting in all his work as an academic. Both daughters, however, confided in me that they too have been subjected to several indignities and humiliation because of this case. But they will never abandon their father to his fate.