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 allegations of gross misconduct against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu, citing subsisting court orders restraining him from acting on impeachment-related matters.
In a letter dated January 20, 2026, and addressed to the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Martin Amaewhule, the chief judge disclosed that his office was served with two interim court orders on January 16, arising from separate suits instituted by Governor Fubara and Deputy Governor Odu.
Justice Amadi explained that the interim orders expressly barred him from receiving, considering or acting on any request, resolution or document connected to impeachment proceedings against the governor and his deputy.
He further revealed that the Speaker had since appealed the interim orders at the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt Division, with notices of appeal served on January 19 and 20, 2026. According to him, the existence of the appeal invoked the legal doctrine of lis pendens, which requires all parties to maintain the status quo pending the determination of the appeal.
“By the doctrine of lis pendens, parties and the court have to await the outcome of the appeal,” Amadi wrote. “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.”
The chief judge urged the lawmakers to appreciate the legal constraints and allow due process to take its full course.
The development follows the commencement of impeachment proceedings by the Rivers State House of Assembly on January 8, 2026, against Governor Fubara and his deputy over allegations of gross misconduct. On January 16, the lawmakers adopted a motion requesting the chief judge to set up a panel to investigate the allegations.
The impeachment charges reportedly include claims of budgetary impropriety, failure to present the 2026 appropriation bill to the House, unauthorised expenditure of public funds, withholding of statutory allocations meant for the legislature, and other alleged acts deemed to constitute gross misconduct.
However, the process suffered a legal setback after a High Court sitting in Port Harcourt issued an interim order restraining the chief judge from taking any step in relation to the impeachment notices. The order, granted by 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.
With the court orders and appeal still pending, the impeachment process remains stalled as the legal impasse deepens.
