The seven-member committee formed by the Edo State Chief Judge, Justice Daniel Okungbowa, to look into the accusation of serious wrongdoing against the state deputy governor, Philip Shaibu, decided on Thursday to schedule Friday, April 5, 2024, as the ultimate adjournment date for the deputy governor to defend himself.
The committee made this choice during its session on Thursday, while the deputy governor and his lawyer were not present.
The chairman of the committee, Justice S. A Omonuwa (retd.), mentioned that the panel would wait to see if the defendant would present his defense and then called for the defendant.
When it became clear that the defendant, Shaibu, was absent and not represented, Justice Omonuwa called for the appearance of the plaintiff, the Edo State House of Assembly, which instigated the impeachment process.
The Legal Officer, N.U. Ibrahim, announced his appearance for the Assembly along with two others.
The chairman then ruled that the panel would still adjourn to give the defendant the opportunity to appear before it to present his defense.
“The panel is adjourned for the last time to April 5, 2024 at 12 noon, to allow the defendant to present his defence,” Justice Omonuwa stated.
It would be recalled that at the inaugural sitting of the panel on Wednesday, Shaibu’s counsel, Prof Oladoyin Awoyale (SAN), took the leave of the panel to excuse himself and the defendant from continuing with the pane’s proceedings.
Awoyale stated that all parties involved in the matter should obey the order of an Abuja Federal High Court, which asked the parties to appear before it to show cause as to why it should or should not grant enforcement of the fundamental human rights prayer Shaibu tabled before the court.
At the same time, Awoyale (SAN) admitted his mistake before the panel, acknowledging that there was no injunction by the Abuja court restraining the panel, as he had mistakenly told the panel. However, he maintained that since the court had asked all the parties to come before it on Monday, April 8, 2024, the panel ought to adhere to that request.
As the panel rejected his argument and upheld the counsel for the House of Assembly, Joe Ohiafi's position that the constitution prevented any court from stopping the Assembly and the panel from carrying out their constitutional duties, the senior lawyer left the panel.
Thereafter, Ohiafi began the case for the plaintiff and concluded it with a request to the panel to assert that, as stated in the constitution, only the state House of Assembly could determine what constitutes serious misconduct, emphasizing that by attaching documents related to the Edo State Executive Council to the case he filed in the Abuja Federal High Court, Shaibu had violated his oath of office.