PORT HARCOURT, Nigeria — Rivers State’s impeachment showdown escalated into a deeper legal and political standoff after the state’s Chief Judge, Justice Simeon Amadi, declined a request by the Rivers State House of Assembly to constitute a seven-member investigative panel to probe Governor Siminalayi Fubara and Deputy Governor Prof. Ngozi Odu over allegations of gross misconduct.
In a letter dated January 20, 2026 and addressed to Speaker Martin Amaewhule, Amadi said he was bound by subsisting interim court orders that restrain him from taking any step connected to the Assembly’s impeachment-related request.
According to the Chief Judge, two interim injunctions issued by the Oyibo Division of the Rivers State High Court—served on his office on January 16, 2026—bar him from “receiving, forwarding, considering and/or acting” on impeachment communications from the Assembly for the purpose of constituting a panel, pending further proceedings.
The injunctions stem from two separate suits filed by Fubara and Odu—Suit No. OYHC/7/CS/2026 and Suit No. OYHC/6/CS/2026—in which the Chief Judge is listed as a defendant.
Amadi urged all sides to respect court directives, describing constitutionalism and obedience to valid court orders as central to democratic governance. He also cited legal precedent to support the view that a Chief Judge who proceeds despite restraining orders risks having the entire process nullified by appellate courts.
The Assembly’s request was made under Section 188(5) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which provides for a judicial panel to investigate allegations once the impeachment process reaches that stage.
The Speaker has already appealed the interim orders at the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt Division, and Amadi said he had been served notices of appeal dated January 19 and 20, noting that the doctrine of lis pendens requires parties to await the outcome.
The decision adds momentum to a widening institutional clash in Rivers, with the impeachment push now facing parallel constraints in both the courts and the political arena.
