Citing court order, the Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simeon Amadi has declined constituting a seven-member panel to probe allegations of gross misconduct against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his Deputy, Prof. Ngozi Nma Odu.
TheHintsNews reports that Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt had restrained the Chief Judge of the state from receiving or acting on any correspondence from the Rivers State House of Assembly connected to ongoing moves to impeach Fubara and Odu.
Amadi, therefore, urged the Rivers State House of Assembly to be magnanimous enough to appreciate the legal position of the matter.
The Chief Judge made his decision known in a letter addressed to the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Hon. Martin Chike Amaewhule, dated January 20, 2026.
He cited two letters from the House of Assembly, both dated January 16, 2026, which requested him to appoint seven persons to investigate the allegations of gross misconduct against Fubara, pursuant to Section 188(5) of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999 (as amended).
The requests by the Rivers state House of Assembly were based on resolutions of the House pursuant to Section 188(4) of the Constitution against Fubara and Idu.
Amadi revealed that his office had also received two separate court orders of interim injunction on January 16, 2026 in two suits: OYHC/6/CS/2026 – Her Excellency, Prof. (Ms.) Ngozi Nma Odu, DSSRS Vs. The Rt. Hon. Martin Amaewhule, DSSRS (Speaker, Rivers State House of Assembly) & 32 Ors and Suit No.: OYHC/7/CS/2026 – His Excellency, Sir Siminalayi Fubara, GSSRS Vs. The Rt. Hon. Martin Chike Amaewhule, DSSRS (Speaker, Rivers State House of Assembly) & 32 Ors.
The Chief Judge is listed as the 32nd Defendant/Respondent in both suits, and the interim orders were served on his office on January 16.
Amadi cited paragraph 1 of the orders, which reads: “That an interim injunction is hereby made, restraining the 32nd Defendant, i.e., The Hon. Chief Judge of Rivers State from receiving, forwarding, considering and or howsoever acting on any request, resolution, articles of impeachment or other documents or communication from the 1st-27th and 31st Defendants for the purpose of constituting a panel to investigate the purported allegations of misconduct of the Claimant/Applicant for seven days.”
Attached to his letter were certified true copies of the court orders. Justice Amadi emphasized the importance of constitutionalism and the rule of law, noting that “all persons and authorities are expected to obey subsisting orders of court of competent jurisdiction, irrespective of perception of its regularity or otherwise.”
The Chief Judge also referenced case law in support of his position, citing Hon. Dele Abiodun vs. The Hon. Chief Judge of Kwara State & 3 Ors. (2007) 18 NWLR, 109-169, in which the Court of Appeal condemned a Chief Judge for constituting a panel to investigate allegations against an appellant despite a subsisting restraining order.
Amadi noted that the Speaker of the House has already filed an appeal against the interim orders at the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt Division, with notices served on 19th and 20th January. He explained that under the doctrine of lis pendens, “parties and the court have to await the outcome of the appeal.”
The chief judge explained that due to the subsisting interim orders and pending appeal, his “hand is fettered” and he is “legally disabled at this point from exercising my duties under Section 188(5) of the Constitution in the instant.”