The Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simeon Amadi, has declined a request by the state House of Assembly to constitute a judicial panel to investigate Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu, citing subsisting court orders restraining such action.
Last week, members of the Rivers State House of Assembly asked the Chief Judge to set up a seven-member panel to probe allegations of gross misconduct against the governor and his deputy, including claims of spending unbudgeted funds from the state coffers.
Justice Amadi confirmed receipt of two separate requests dated January 16, 2026, accompanied by extensive documentation such as the notice of allegations, the Rivers State Impeachment Panel (Conduct of Investigations) Procedure, 2025, and relevant newspaper publications.
In his response, Justice Amadi disclosed that his office had already been served with two interim injunctions issued by the Rivers State High Court sitting in Oyigbo on January 16, 2026.
The suits—OYHC/6/CS/2026 filed by Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu and OYHC/7/CS/2026 filed by Governor Fubara—listed the Speaker of the House and 32 others as defendants, with the Chief Judge himself named as the 32nd defendant.
The interim orders expressly restrain the Chief Judge from “receiving, forwarding, considering or howsoever acting on any request, resolution, articles of impeachment or other communication” from the Assembly in relation to the impeachment process for seven days. Certified true copies of the court orders were attached to his correspondence to the Speaker.
The decision effectively stalls the impeachment proceedings initiated by the Assembly, at least until the restraining orders expire or are vacated.
It underscores the legal complexities surrounding the political crisis in Rivers State, where crisis between the executive and legislature have escalated to the point of a 6-months state of emergency which only ended in September 2025.
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