Justice Simeon Chibuzor Amadi, the state’s chief judge, has been prohibited by a Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt from receiving or responding to any correspondence from the Rivers State House of Assembly regarding attempts to remove Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Prof. Ngozi Nma Odu.
Following the filing of two distinct lawsuits by Governor Fubara and his deputy, designated Suit Nos. OYHC/7/CS/2026 and OYHC/6/CS/2026, the High Court of Oyibo Local Government Area, located in Port Harcourt, issued the order.
The State House of Assembly Speaker, Mr. Martin Amaewhule, and 32 other individuals, including the Chief Judge and the House Clerk, were prohibited from proceeding with the impeachment process by the court’s temporary orders of injunction.
For a period of seven days, the court specifically prohibited Justice Amadi from receiving, forwarding, considering, or acting upon any request, resolution, articles of impeachment, or other communication from the first to the twenty-seventh defendants in order to form a panel to look into the alleged misconduct against the governor and his deputy.
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The decision was made by the sitting judge, Justice F. A. Fiberesima, who also granted motions ex parte in the two lawsuits that the governor and his deputy had brought.
Additionally, Justice Fiberesima gave the claimants/applicants permission to post the interim orders and originating procedures at the entrance of the Rivers State House of Assembly Quarters on the first through the thirty-first defendants.
The court additionally ordered that the Chief Judge of Rivers State, the 32nd defendant, be served with the interim orders and originating procedures by any member of the judiciary at the Chief Judge’s Chambers on the High Court grounds.
After that, the motion on notice was postponed until January 23, 2026.
The state parliament started the process of impeaching the governor and his deputy last week.
After Major Jack, the assembly leader, read the gross misconduct allegations against Fubara, which were signed by 26 members of the house, the lawmakers began the procedure.
Political tensions in the state have increased due to ongoing divisions between the legislature and the executive branch, which have been exacerbated by the most recent impeachment proceedings.
The federal capital territory (FCT) minister Nyesom Wike, who has been running against Fubara’s reelection campaign after accusing the governor of violating a peace deal they both signed prior to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu lifting the emergency rule in Rivers, has the support of the majority of Rivers lawmakers.
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