Impeachment: Shaibu's last opportunity to launch a defense

Philip Shaibu, the deputy governor of Edo State, was supposed to appear on Thursday to begin his defense before the seven-member panel looking into his alleged perjury and disclosure of government secrets. However, he did not show up.

The panel headed by retired Justice S. A. Omonuwa postponed Shaibu’s opening statement until Thursday after convening for the first time on Wednesday in Benin.

Shaibu was given the opportunity to respond to the accusations made against him on Wednesday when the Edo State House of Assembly, the petitioner in the matter, opened and closed its case.

Nevertheless, neither Shaibu nor his attorney, Prof. Oladoyin Awoyale (SAN), appeared at the rescheduled hearing on Thursday.

Awoyale, who was present at the Wednesday session, left the room midway through the hearing when the panel turned down his request to pause the proceedings while Shaibu’s lawsuit in Abuja, which was filed to contest the state Assembly’s impeachment attempt against him, was being processed.

Justice Omonuwa, the panel’s chairman, had sustained the Assembly’s resistance to the suspension prayer, which was made by Joe Ohaifa, the Assembly’s deputy clerk.

Following Awoyale’s self-excuse, Ohaifa proceeded to present the Assembly’s argument against Shaibu.

The Deputy Clerk informed the panel in his submission that Shaibu had disclosed secrets of the Edo State government in the affidavit he had submitted to support his suit in Abuja.

He claimed that Shaibu produced records about the meeting of the State Executive Council.

Ohaifa claims that Shaibu acted against Schedule 7 of the 1999 Constitution and broke the oath of secrecy he took.

The panel postponed until Thursday so that Shaibu may present his defense after hearing the Assembly’s argument.

But neither he nor his attorney appeared.

N.U. Ibrahim, the Assembly’s legal officer, attended the Thursday session along with two other people.

Justice Omonuwa declared that the panel will adjourn one more time to allow Shaibu to submit his defense after it became clear that the defendant was not present and was not represented.

The panel chairman declared, “The panel is adjourned for the last time to April 5, 2024, for the last time, at 12 noon, to allow the defendant to present his defense.”

The state Assembly initiated the impeachment process against Shaibu on March 5 and Justice Daniel Okungbowa, the chief judge of Edo State, raised the impeachment panel on their request.

The Assembly stated that Shaibu was accused of dishonesty and disclosing government secrets in a petition that served as the basis for the impeachment process.