The Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simeon Amadi, has declined to constitute a judicial panel to investigate Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu, citing existing court orders that bar him from taking any action on the impeachment process.
The decision is a major setback to the Rivers State House of Assembly, which had requested the formation of a seven-member judicial panel as part of impeachment proceedings against the governor and his deputy over allegations of gross misconduct.
Justice Amadi conveyed his position in a letter dated January 20, 2026, addressed to the Speaker of the House, Martin Amaewhule, stating that his “hands are fettered” by subsisting interim injunctions issued by a court.
According to the chief judge, his office was served with two interim court orders on January 16, following lawsuits filed separately by Governor Fubara and Deputy Governor Odu challenging the legality of the impeachment process.
He explained that the court orders expressly restrain him from receiving, considering, or acting on any request, resolution, or document related to impeachment proceedings against the governor or deputy governor.
Justice Amadi also revealed that the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly has already filed an appeal against the interim orders at the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt. Notices of the appeal, he said, were served on his office on January 19 and 20.
Citing the legal principle of lis pendens, which requires all parties to maintain the status quo while a case is pending before a higher court, the chief judge said no further steps can be taken until the appeal is determined.
“In view of the subsisting interim orders of injunction and the pending appeal, I am legally disabled from exercising my duties under Section 188(5) of the 1999 Constitution at this point,” Amadi stated.
He urged members of the Rivers State House of Assembly to appreciate the legal position of the matter and allow the judicial process to run its full course.
The impeachment proceedings against Governor Fubara and his deputy began on January 8, when the Rivers State House of Assembly formally initiated the process. The move followed the reading of allegations of gross misconduct by Major Jack, leader of the assembly, reportedly endorsed by 26 lawmakers.
On January 16, lawmakers passed a resolution asking the chief judge to set up a judicial panel to investigate the allegations, which include budgetary impropriety, failure to present the 2026 appropriation bill to the assembly, unauthorised expenditure of public funds, and the alleged withholding of statutory allocations meant for the legislature.
However, shortly after the resolution was passed, the Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt intervened. Justice Florence Fiberesima issued an interim order restraining the chief judge from receiving, forwarding, considering, or acting on any impeachment notice or resolution submitted by the lawmakers against Governor Fubara and his deputy.
