The Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simeon C. Amadi, has declined a request by the Rivers State House of Assembly to constitute a seven-member investigative panel to probe allegations of gross misconduct against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Nma-Odu, citing subsisting court orders and a pending appeal.
Justice Amadi’s decision was conveyed in a formal letter to the Speaker of the House, Martin Amaewhule, acknowledging receipt of two separate requests dated January 16, 2026. The requests were made pursuant to Sections 188(4) and 188(5) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), following resolutions by the Assembly to commence impeachment proceedings against the governor and his deputy.
In the letter, the Chief Judge invoked the doctrine of lis pendens, noting that once a matter is under judicial consideration, parties must await the outcome of the appeal. “In view of the foregoing, my hand is fettered, as there are subsisting interim orders of injunction and an appeal against those orders. I am therefore legally disabled at this point from exercising my duties under Section 188(5) of the Constitution,” he stated.
Justice Amadi disclosed that his office had earlier been served with two interim injunctions issued on January 16, 2026, by the Rivers State High Court sitting in Oyigbo. The suits, filed separately by Governor Fubara and Deputy Governor Nma-Odu list the Speaker and 32 others as defendants, with the Chief Judge named as the 32nd defendant.
The interim orders expressly restrain the Chief Judge from receiving, considering, or acting on any request, resolution, articles of impeachment, or related communication from the House of Assembly concerning the impeachment process for a period of seven days. Certified true copies of the injunctions were attached to the correspondence.
While noting that the Assembly’s requests were accompanied by extensive documentation including the notice of allegations, the Rivers State Impeachment Panel (Conduct of Investigations) Procedure, 2025, and relevant newspaper publications, Justice Amadi stressed that the subsisting court orders take precedence.
He further revealed that the House of Assembly has itself appealed the interim injunctions at the Court of Appeal, reinforcing the need to maintain the status quo pending judicial determination. Citing the supremacy of the rule of law, the Chief Judge emphasised that all persons and authorities are bound to obey valid court orders until they are set aside.
He referenced judicial precedent, including Hon. Dele Abiodun v. The Hon. Chief Judge of Kwara State & Ors (2007), in which a Chief Judge was faulted for constituting an investigative panel in defiance of a restraining order.
The Chief Judge concluded that his hands remain legally tied and that he is currently unable to exercise his constitutional responsibilities under Section 188(5).
The development effectively halts the impeachment process initiated by the Rivers State House of Assembly and shifts the dispute squarely into the courts, pending the outcome of the appeal and the substantive suits before the High Court.
