Deputy Governor Philip Shaibu of Edo State just can’t seem to catch a break! In a dramatic courtroom twist, Justice James Omotoso of the Federal High Court in Abuja threw out his request to hit the pause button on the impeachment proceedings against him by the Edo State House of Assembly. Talk about being between a rock and a hard place! Some might even say Shaibu is going through some serious “shege” right now. [Shege – Nigerian slang for a difficult situation]
Shaibu, clearly hoping to buy himself some time, asked the court to order everyone involved in the impeachment drama to hold their horses until his full case could be heard. But Judge Omotoso wasn’t swayed. Apparently, Shaibu hadn’t dotted all his legal “i’s” and crossed his “t’s.” The judge pointed out that the Governor and the House of Assembly, the key players in this whole mess, hadn’t been properly notified about the lawsuit. Oops!
Now, here’s the interesting part: The judge did allow Shaibu to serve those all-important legal documents, but with a twist! Since things seem a bit tense between Shaibu and the Edo State government, forget the usual methods of notification. Instead, the judge ordered the court papers to be plastered on the front doors of both the Government House and the State House of Assembly complex! Talk about serving with a side of public spectacle!
Justice Omotoso also ordered Shaibu to use a registered courier company to make sure everyone else involved gets their copies. The whole case has now been adjourned until April 15th.
Deputy Shaibu, who witnessed the entire courtroom drama unfold, remained tight-lipped when approached by reporters. One can only imagine the emotions swirling around in his head right now.
This whole situation is a real rollercoaster ride, and there’s no telling where it will end. One thing’s for sure, sorrows and prayers seem to be the order of the day for Mr. Shaibu.
