The Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simeon Amadi, has refused to establish a judicial panel to look into allegations against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu, saying he is legally bound by existing court directives.
Gatekeepers News reports that the Rivers State House of Assembly had written to Justice Amadi requesting that he set up a seven-member panel to investigate claims of gross misconduct. Still, he declined in a letter dated January 20, 2026.
In his response to Speaker Martins Amaewhule, the chief judge said his office had been served with two interim injunctions on January 16, 2026, which prohibit him from receiving, forwarding, considering, or acting on any document connected to impeachment proceedings against the governor or his deputy.
The judge emphasised that as long as these orders remain in force, he is unable to act on the assembly’s request under Section 188(5) of the Constitution.
Justice Amadi noted that the assembly has appealed the interim orders at the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt, and said the legal principle of lis pendens requires all parties to maintain the status quo until the appeal is resolved.
He wrote that because of the injunctions and the lodged appeal, “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 injunctions were issued by a High Court sitting in Port Harcourt after suits were filed by Fubara and Odu challenging aspects of the impeachment process, including how the notice was served and issues related to procedure. Those orders bar the chief judge from acting on any impeachment-related demands until the matter is finally determined.
This development comes amid ongoing political tension in Rivers State, where members of the House of Assembly have levelled allegations against the governor and deputy for actions they describe as gross misconduct, including claims of constitutional breaches and irregularities in governance processes.
With the chief judge’s refusal, the impeachment moves are now largely tied up in legal proceedings in the courts, as the judiciary and legislature await further rulings.
