Rivers High Court Bars Chief Judge From Acting On Assembly Correspondence on Impeachment

Rivers State, a High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has issued an interim injunction barring the state's Chief Judge, Justice Simeon Chibuzor Amadi, from receiving or acting on any correspondence from the Rivers State House of Assembly related to the impeachment of Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Prof. Ngozi Nma Odu.

The order, delivered by Justice F.A. Fiberesima at the High Court of Oyibo Local Government Area, restrains the Chief Judge from receiving, forwarding, considering, or taking any action on resolutions, articles of impeachment, or other communications aimed at constituting a panel to investigate allegations of gross misconduct against the governor and deputy governor.

The injunction is effective for seven days, pending further hearings. The ruling stems from two separate ex parte suits filed by Governor Fubara and Deputy Governor Odu, marked Suit No. OYHC/7/CS/2026 and Suit No. OYHC/6/CS/2026.

In the interim orders, the court also restrained the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Mr. Martin Amaewhule, the Clerk of the House, and 32 others from proceeding with any steps toward the impeachment process.

This judicial intervention comes mere hours after the Assembly, presided over by Speaker Amaewhule, unanimously resolved during a plenary session on Friday to forward a formal request to the Chief Judge to set up a seven-member investigative panel, in line with Section 188 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).

The lawmakers accused the governor and his deputy of constitutional violations, intimidation, blackmail, and other acts of gross misconduct that they claim have paralyzed governance in the oil-rich state.