The lawsuit brought by Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu, contesting the impeachment process started by the Rivers State House of Assembly has been postponed indefinitely by the Oyigbo High Court of Rivers State in Port Harcourt.
After learning that two distinct appeals had been filed about the case, Justice Florence Fiberesima of the Oyigbo High Court made the ruling.
According to Channels TV, the court decided that the adjournment would enable the Court of Appeal to first decide the matters at hand.
Martin Amaewhule, the Speaker of the House’s attorney, and 27 legislators, S.I. Amen (SAN), informed the court of the ongoing appeals and verbally requested a stay of proceedings during the reopened session.
Neither Lawrence Oko-Jaja (SAN), who represented Victor Oko-Jumbo, Orubienimigha Timothy, and Sokari Goodboy, the three defendants in the case, nor Paul Orikoro (SAN), the claimants’ attorney, contested the application.
As a result, Justice Fiberesima postponed the case indefinitely, awaiting the resolution of the appeals.
The development coincides with a previous interim injunction issued by the same Court that prevented the Speaker, Martins Amaewhule, a number of legislators, the Clerk of the House, and the state Chief Judge from pursuing the governor and his deputy’s impeachment.
In order to form an investigating panel regarding alleged egregious misconduct, the injunction prohibited the mailing or consideration of impeachment notices or related papers.
Rivers CJ Rejects Request from Assembly
Citing ongoing court orders and an ongoing appeal, Rivers State Chief Judge Justice Simeon C. Amadi has rejected the Rivers State House of Assembly’s request to form a seven-person investigative panel to look into claims of gross misconduct against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Nma-Odu.
Justice Amadi’s stance was expressed in a written letter dated January 16, 2026, to Martin Amaewhule, Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, admitting receipt of two distinct requests from the legislature.
The petitions were made in response to House resolutions to begin impeachment proceedings against the governor and his deputy, in accordance with Sections 188(4) and 188(5) of the 1999 Constitution (as modified).
The letter partially said, however, that “parties and the court have to await the outcome of the appeal by the doctrine of lis pendens.”
Given the aforementioned, my options are limited because there are current interim injunction orders and appeals against them. As a result, I am currently legally unable to perform my obligations under Section 188(5) of the Constitution.
The Chief Judge claims that the Assembly’s requests were supported by copious amounts of paperwork, such as copies of the Rivers State Impeachment Panel (Conduct of Investigations) Procedure, 2025, the notice of charges of gross misconduct, and pertinent newspaper articles.
But Justice Amadi revealed that on January 16, 2026, the Rivers State High Court in Oyigbo had previously served his office with two temporary injunctions.
The Speaker and 32 other people were named as defendants in the suits, OYHC/6/CS/2026 filed by the Deputy Governor and OYHC/7/CS/2026 brought by Governor Siminalayi Fubara. The Chief Judge was designated as the 32nd defendant.
For seven days, the Chief Judge is specifically prohibited by the interim orders from “receiving, forwarding, considering, or howsoever acting on any request, resolution, articles of impeachment, or other communication” from the House of Assembly pertaining to the impeachment procedure. The correspondence included certified authentic copies of the court orders.
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