Isaac Samuel
The Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simeon Amadi, has declined a request by the Rivers State House of Assembly to constitute a judicial panel to investigate Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu, citing subsisting court orders.
The assembly had asked the chief judge to set up a seven-member panel to probe allegations of gross misconduct levelled against the governor and his deputy as part of ongoing impeachment proceedings.
However, in a letter dated January 20, 2026, and addressed to the Speaker of the House, Martin Amaewhule, Justice Amadi said his hands were “fettered” by interim court injunctions restraining him from acting on the request.
In the letter sighted on Thursday, the Chief Judge disclosed that his office was served with two interim orders on January 16, arising from separate suits filed by Governor Fubara and Deputy Governor Odu.
According to the chief judge, the orders expressly barred him from “receiving, considering or acting on any request, resolution or document” connected with impeachment proceedings against the governor or his deputy.
Justice Amadi noted that the Speaker had already filed an appeal against the interim orders at the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt, adding that notices of appeal were served on his office on January 19 and 20.
“By the doctrine of lis pendens, parties and the court must await the outcome of the appeal,” the letter stated.
“In view of the foregoing, my hands are fettered, as there are subsisting interim orders of injunction and an appeal against the said orders. I am therefore legally disabled at this point from exercising my duties under Section 188(5) of the Constitution in this matter.”
He urged the Rivers State House of Assembly to appreciate the prevailing legal position.
On January 8, the Rivers State House of Assembly commenced impeachment proceedings against Governor Fubara and his deputy.
The move followed the reading of allegations of gross misconduct against the governor by Major Jack, leader of the assembly, with the charges reportedly endorsed by 26 lawmakers.
On January 16, the lawmakers adopted a motion requesting the chief judge to constitute a panel to investigate the allegations, which include budgetary impropriety, failure to present the 2026 appropriation bill, unauthorised expenditure of public funds, and withholding of statutory allocations to the legislature.
Shortly after, a High Court sitting in Port Harcourt issued an interim order restraining the chief judge from receiving or acting on any impeachment notice against the governor and his deputy.
The presiding judge, Justice Florence Fiberesima, specifically barred the chief judge from “receiving, forwarding, considering, or acting on any request, resolution, or articles of impeachment” submitted by members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
