Three months after the Edo State House of Assembly impeached the Deputy Governor, Phillip Shuaibu, the Federal High Court in Abuja has reinstated him, ruling Shuaibu’s removal as illegal.
The court ruled that Shuaibu’s removal by the lawmakers was unconstitutional and cannot stand in the state.
In a ruling delivered by Justice James Omotosho on Wednesday, the court held that the deputy governor’s impeachment was in gross violation of the law.
Aside from restoring Shaibu, the court also ordered that his salaries and allowances should be paid to him from April when he was impeached as the deputy governor of the state.
The verdict came about three months after the lawmakers impeached the embattled 54-year-old deputy governor after losing the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) gubernatorial primary held in the state.
In a move that was seen as the culmination of the long-drawn battle between him and the Governor, Godwin Obaseki, the lawmakers after investigations said they found Shaibu guilty of disclosure of government secrets.
The seven-man panel set up by the Edo State Assembly therefore recommended his impeachment on that ground.
The assembly then upheld and approved the recommendation of the seven-man panel and subsequently impeached him as the state’s deputy governor.
Eighteen out of 19 members present at plenary voted for Shaibu’s impeachment. Only one abstained from the headcount and voting process, ending the process.
Immediately after his sack, Shaibu faulted the lawmakers and claimed his impeachment was a threat to the country’s democracy.
“This is not just an attack on me as an individual but on the democracy that we hold dear,” he said
“It is a dangerous descent into dictatorship and a threat to the foundation of our democracy. Let it be clear that this impeachment was hatched because of my ambition to contest the Edo State 2024 governorship election under the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP. An ambition that is a legal right to all citizens of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.”
Hours after Shaibu’s impeachment, Obaseki picked 37-year-old Omobayo Godwins as his deputy to see out his tenure which ends in November. The Chief Judge of Edo State Justice Daniel Okungbowa swore him in around 1:40 pm on the same day.
