Philip Shaibu: Violence is Not an Option

The violence, which greeted the arrival of the court-reinstated Deputy Governor of Edo State, Philip Shaibu and the governorship candidate of the APC in the state, Senator Monday Okpebholo in Benin-City, the state capital on Thursday was unfortunate and condemnable.

Recall that Justice James Omotosho of the Federal High Court in Abuja had last Wednesday declared Shaibu’s impeachment by the state House of Assembly on April 8, 2024 as illegal, unconstitutional, null, and void, and also reinstated him as the Deputy Governor of Edo State.

But after the judgment was delivered, the state assembly said it had appealed it and had also filed a stay of execution pending the appeal.

Also responding, Governor Godwin Obaseki insisted that the incumbent Deputy Governor, Omobayo Godwins, would remain in office pending the hearing and determination of the appeal filed by the state government.

However, on Thursday, Shaibu and Okpebholo stormed Benin-City in a chartered private jet, which landed around 2pm at the airport.

Immediately their motorcade left the airport, armed thugs in their convoy clashed with armed youths suspected to be loyalists of the state government, leading to the death of a police Inspector attached to Okpehhole. This has raised the political temperature in the state.

The state Commissioner for Communication and Orientation, Chris Nehikhare, in a statement, accused Shaibu of leading “thugs through the Airport Road axis of Benin City, attacking innocent citizens and unleashing mayhem on private citizens who are going about their normal businesses.”

On Friday, Shaibu took a step further to enforce the court judgment by announcing the reappointment of his former aides to their previous positions.

But Nehikhare, in a separate statement, described the appointments as “fake” and  provocative. He urged the public to disregard the purported appointments, adding that Shaibu was out to cause a crisis in the state.

 Shaibu’s decision to enforce the judgment by himself will continue to bring violence and loss of lives in the state until he realises that it is the duty of the police to enforce court judgment, and not the beneficiary of the judgment.