The seven-member panel, which was appointed by Justice Daniel Okungbowa, the chief judge of Edo State, to look into the serious misconduct charges made against state deputy governor Philip Shaibu, set a final adjournment date of Friday, April 5, 2024, so that Shaibu may present his case.
The deputy governor and his attorney were not present when the panel made the decision on Thursday when it reconvened.
Justice S. A. Omonuwa (retd.), the panel chairman, stated that the panel would wait to summon the defendant after determining whether or not he would provide his defense.
The impeachment process was started when Justice Omonuwa asked for the plaintiff, the Edo State House of Assembly, to appear when it became clear that the defendant, Shaibu, was not present and was not represented.
N.U. Ibrahim, the Legal Officer of the Edo State House of Assembly, along with two others, declared their intention to appear before the Assembly.
Subsequently, the chairman decided that the panel would continue to adjourn so that the defendant might come before it and submit his defense.
Justice Omonuwa declared, “The panel is adjourned for the final time to April 5, 2024 at 12 noon, to allow the defendant to present his defense.”
Recall that Shaibu’s attorney, Prof. Oladoyin Awoyale (SAN), requested permission from the panel during the panel’s first meeting on Wednesday in order to relieve both the defendant and himself from continuing the case.
Awoyale’s position was based on his argument that all parties involved in the case should abide by the directive of the Abuja Federal High Court, which ordered the parties to come before it and provide justification for why the court should grant or deny the enforcement of the prayer for fundamental human rights that Shaibu had brought before it.
Awoyale (SAN) acknowledged before the panel that he had misled them about the existence of an injunction issued by the Abuja court restraining the panel. Nevertheless, he insisted that the panel should comply with the court’s request that all parties appear before it on Monday, April 8, 2024.
The senior attorney left the panel as it rejected his submission and upheld Joe Ohiafi, the House of Assembly’s attorney,’s contention that the constitution barred any court from preventing the Assembly and the panel from carrying out their constitutional duties.
After that, Ohiafi began the case on behalf of the plaintiff and ended it by asking the panel to rule that, in accordance with the constitution, only the state House of Assembly could decide what constituted gross misconduct. He also emphasized that Shaibu had violated his oath of office by attaching Edo State Executive Council-related documents to the case he filed in the Abuja Federal High Court.
