A Rivers State High Court sitting in Oyigbo Local Government Area has intervened in the state’s escalating political crisis, issuing an interim injunction restraining further action on the impeachment process against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Nma-Odu.
In a ruling delivered in Port Harcourt, the court barred the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martin Amaewhule, along with 32 other defendants including the Clerk of the House and the Chief Judge of Rivers State from taking any steps to advance the impeachment proceedings.
Justice Florence Fiberesima, who granted the order, specifically restrained the Chief Judge, Justice Simeon Chibuzor-Amadi, from receiving, forwarding, considering or acting on any impeachment-related request or resolution from the Assembly for the purpose of constituting an investigative panel. The injunction is to remain in force for seven days, pending further proceedings.
The order followed the hearing of motions ex parte filed separately by Governor Fubara and his deputy in suits marked OYHC/7/CS/2026 and OYHC/6/CS/2026. The court also granted the claimants leave to serve the interim order and other originating processes on the first to 31st defendants by substituted service, including pasting the documents at the gate of the Rivers State Assembly quarters.
The Chief Judge, listed as the 32nd defendant, is to be served through any staff member at his chambers within the court premises.
Justice Fiberesima adjourned the matter to January 23, 2026, for the hearing of the motion on notice, as the impeachment dispute moves from the political arena to the courtroom.
Impeachment probe
The court order comes days after the Rivers State House of Assembly unanimously called on the Chief Judge to set up a panel to investigate allegations of gross misconduct against Fubara and his deputy, vowing to press ahead with impeachment.
At a press conference in Port Harcourt, lawmakers accused the governor of alleged blackmail and constitutional violations. Deputy Speaker Dumle Maol claimed Fubara lacked the credibility to resolve the political crisis in the oil-rich state, insisting that the Assembly had no option but to invoke its constitutional powers.
The lawmakers also accused the governor and his deputy of intimidating the legislature, while thanking President Bola Tinubu for intervening in the crisis. They further called on Speaker Amaewhule to reconvene the House.
The impeachment move, initiated weeks earlier over allegations of gross negligence, has significantly heightened political tension in Rivers State.
