Justice Simeon C. Amadi, the Chief Judge of Rivers State, has turned down a request from the Rivers State House of Assembly to form a seven-person investigative panel to look into claims of serious misconduct against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Nma-Odu. He said this was because there are already court orders in place and an appeal is still pending.
Justice Amadi’s opinion was sent in an official letter to Martin Amaewhule, the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly. The letter acknowledged receipt of two different petitions from the legislature dated January 16, 2026, according to Channels TV.
The House decided to start impeachment proceedings against the governor and his deputy, and the petitions were made under Sections 188(4) and 188(5) of the 1999 Constitution (as modified).
The letter went on to say, “By the doctrine of ‘lis pendens,’ the parties and the court must wait for the appeal to be decided.”
Because of what has been mentioned, I can’t do anything because there are still temporary orders of injunction and appeal against those orders. Because of this, I am now legally unable to carry out my duties under Section 188(5) of the Constitution.
The Chief Judge said that the Assembly’s petitions came with a lot of paperwork, such as copies of the notice of allegations of gross misconduct, the Rivers State Impeachment Panel (Conduct of Investigations) Procedure, 2025, and relevant newspaper articles.
Justice Amadi, on the other hand, said that his office had already received two temporary injunctions from the Rivers State High Court sitting in Oyigbo on January 16, 2026.
The Deputy Governor filed OYHC/6/CS/2026 and the Governor filed OYHC/7/CS/2026. The Speaker and 32 additional people were identified as defendants, with the Chief Judge being the 32nd defendant.
The temporary instructions clearly say that the Chief Judge cannot “receive, forward, consider, or otherwise act on any request, resolution, articles of impeachment, or other communication” from the House of Assembly about the impeachment proceedings for seven days. The letters included certified accurate copies of the court orders.
Justice Amadi said that the House of Assembly has also filed an appeal against the temporary orders at the Court of Appeal, in addition to the existing injunctions.
He used the legal principle of lis pendens to say that all parties must keep things the way they are until a higher court makes a decision on the case.
The chief judge said that the rule of law is the most important thing and that everyone, including the government, must follow legal court orders unless they are overturned.
He backed up this claim by pointing to court cases like Hon. Dele Abiodun v. The Hon. Chief Judge of Kwara State & Ors (2007), where a Chief Judge was criticized for going ahead with the formation of an investigating panel even though a court order said not to.
He added that his hands are legally tied and that he can’t do his constitutional job right now because of Section 188(5) of the Constitution.
The development effectively puts the impeachment process started by the Rivers State House of Assembly on hold and moves the dispute completely to the courts, where it will stay until the appeal at the Court of Appeal and the substantive petitions before the High Court are decided.
About the Author
