An Oyigbo High Court in Rivers State has adjourned indefinitely the suit filed by Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu, challenging the impeachment process initiated against them by the Rivers State House of Assembly.
Justice Florence Fiberesima took the decision in Port Harcourt after being informed that two separate appeals had been entered in respect of the matter. The court held that proceedings must be suspended to allow the Court of Appeal to first determine the issues before it.
At the resumed hearing, counsel to the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Martin Amaewhule, and 27 lawmakers, S. I. Amen (SAN), informed the court of the pending appeals and made an oral application for a stay of proceedings.
The application was not opposed by counsel to the claimants, Paul Orikoro (SAN), nor by Lawrence Oko-Jaja (SAN), who represents Victor Oko-Jumbo, Orubienimigha Timothy, and Sokari Goodboy, also defendants in the suit.
Consequently, Justice Fiberesima adjourned the matter sine die, pending the determination of the appeals.
The adjournment follows an earlier interim injunction granted by the same court, restraining the Speaker, several lawmakers, the Clerk of the House, and the Chief Judge of Rivers State from taking further steps toward the impeachment of the governor and his deputy.
The injunction barred the transmission, consideration, or action on impeachment notices or related documents for the purpose of constituting an investigative panel over alleged gross misconduct.
Meanwhile, the Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simeon C. Amadi, has declined a request by the House of Assembly to constitute a seven-member investigative panel to probe the allegations, citing subsisting court orders and pending appeals.
Justice Amadi’s position was conveyed in a formal letter addressed to the Speaker, Martin Amaewhule, acknowledging receipt of two requests dated January 16, 2026. The requests were made pursuant to Sections 188(4) and 188(5) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), following the Assembly’s resolutions to commence impeachment proceedings.
Invoking the doctrine of lis pendens, the Chief Judge said the court and parties must await the outcome of the appeals.
“By the doctrine of lis pendens, parties and the court have to await the outcome of the appeal,” the letter stated.
“In view of the foregoing, my hand is fettered, as there are subsisting interim orders of injunction and 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 the instant matter.”
Justice Amadi confirmed that the Assembly’s requests were accompanied by extensive documentation, including notices of allegations of gross misconduct, the Rivers State Impeachment Panel (Conduct of Investigations) Procedure, 2025, and relevant newspaper publications.
However, he disclosed that his office had earlier 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 the Deputy Governor and OYHC/7/CS/2026 filed by Governor Fubara—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, forwarding, considering or howsoever acting on any request, resolution, articles of impeachment or other communication” from the House of Assembly relating to the impeachment process for a period of seven days. Certified true copies of the orders were attached to the correspondence.
