A Federal High Court in Abuja has scheduled judgment for September 7 in the suit by Edo State Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu seeking to stop his impeachment by the House of Assembly.
In a sitting on August 23, Justice Ahmed Mohamed fixed after entertaining final submissions from lawyers to parties in the suit, marked: FHC/ABJ/CS/2027/2023.
In the suit, Shaibu accused Governor Godwin Obaseki of plotting to, among others, prevent him from performing his official responsibilities and instigate the Assembly to impeach him in order to frustrate his ambition to contest next year’s governorship election in the state.
Listed with Obaseki as defendants are the Inspector-General of Police (IGP), the Department of State Services (DSS), the Speaker of the Assembly and the Chief Judge of Edo State.
Shaibu’s lawyer, George Ibrahim, stated that while the defendants are contending that the deputy governor’s case is hinged solely on impeachment, they failed to address the allegation that Obaseki was planning to prevent his client from further carrying out his constitutional duties.
“They have not denied the fact that the gate between the offices of the Deputy Governor and the Governor has been locked,” Ibrahim said.