A Federal High Court sitting in Abuja, Wednesday, reinstated Philip Shaibu as the Deputy Governor of Edo State,

The Court presided over by Justice James Omotosho, held that the removal of the Plaintiff, Shaibu from office as Deputy Governor of Edo State and the subsequent appointment of Omobayo Godwins as his replacement by the Governor of Edo State, Godwin Obaseki, was illegal, unconstitutional, null and void.

The court held that there was a breach of the provisions of the procedure laid out in Section 188(1) to (9) in the way and manner the impeachment process was conducted. The court noted that the ouster clause in Section 188(10) limiting the jurisdiction is not a stand alone provision. The court referred to the decision of the Supreme Court in Inakoju v. Adeleke(2007).

The court, therefore, ordered the 1st Defendant, the Inspector General of Police, to immediately restore the security aides of the Plaintiff as Deputy Governor of Edo State.