Appeal Court Affirms Philip Shaibu’s Reinstatement as Edo Deputy Governor

The Abuja Division of the Court of Appeal has upheld the rein­statement of Philip Shaibu as the Deputy Governor of Edo State.

In a ruling on Tuesday, the ap­pellate court dismissed the appeal by the Edo State House of Assem­bly challenging the judgment of the Federal High Court, Abuja, which had reinstated Shaibu for lack of merit.

The three-man panel added that the lower court was right to reinstate Shaibu as Edo Deputy Governor.

Recall that Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court, Abuja, had on July 17, reinstated Philip Shaibu as the Deputy Governor of Edo State.

Delivering judgment on a suit by the embattled Deputy Gover­nor challenging his impeachment by the Edo State House of Assem­bly, Justice Omotosho voided

Shaibu’s sack as Deputy Gov­ernor on the ground that his impeachment and subsequent removal from office breached the provisions of the law.

By declaring the removal of Shaibu as “unlawful”, the Judge ordered that he be reinstated as the deputy governor of Edo State.

Consequently, the court or­dered the Inspector General of Police to restore the deputy gov­ernor’s security details

Declaring the removal as illegal, unconstitutional, null, and void, the court held that the purported impeachment violated Sections 188 and 35 of the 1999 con­stitution, as amended.

Consequently, Justice Omoto­sho ordered that all his salaries, allowances, and benefits be paid to him from April 8, when he was illegally impeached, until the ex­piration of his tenure.

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More so, the court issued an order of perpetual injunction restraining Governor Godwin Obaseki and the Edo State House of Assembly from impeding Shai­bu from performing his functions as deputy governor.

The court stated that the ratio­nale behind the deputy governor’s impeachment as tendered by the Edo Assembly was “lame and smacked of an ochestrated polit­ical vendetta”.

The Edo State House of As­sembly impeached Shaibu for al­leged gross misconduct on April 8.

This followed the adoption of the report of a seven-man com­mittee set up by the state chief judge, Justice Daniel Okungbowa, to investigate allegations against the deputy governor.