A Rivers State High Court sitting in Oyigbo Local Government Area, Port Harcourt, has issued an interim injunction halting impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State.
This development marks the start of another round of legal battle in the oil-rich state.
The ruling, delivered by Justice Florence Fiberesima on Friday, came in response to separate ex parte motions filed by Governor Fubara and his deputy, Prof. Ngozi Nma-Odu.
The court restrained the Rivers State House of Assembly, its Speaker Martins Chike-Amaewhule, and 32 other defendants from taking further steps in the impeachment proceedings of Fubara and the deputy.
The presiding judge also barred the state’s Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simeon Amadi from receiving, considering, or acting on any impeachment-related notice or resolution for the purpose of setting up an investigative panel.
Justice Fiberesima, in his ruling on a motion ex parte in two separate suits filed by Governor Siminalayi Fubara and the Deputy Governor, Prof. Ngozi Odu, also granted leave to the claimants/applicants to serve the interim order and the originating processes in Suit No. OYHC/7CS/2026 and Suit No. OYHC/6/CS/2026, as well as all subsequent processes meant for the first to the 31st defendants at the gate of the Rivers State Assembly quarters.
The court further directed that the interim order and the originating processes in the suits be served on the 32nd defendant, who is the Chief Judge of the state, through any staff of the judiciary at the Chief Judge’s chambers within the High Court premises.
Justice Fiberesima thereafter adjourned the case to January 23, 2026, for the hearing of the motion.
This dramatic intervention follows weeks of escalating political tension, with the Assembly initiating the impeachment proceedings against Fubara on January 8, 2026, citing allegations of gross misconduct against the governor and his deputy.
The accusations include claims of unauthorized spending, failure to present the 2026 budget, and other constitutional breaches.
The court ruling also comes hours after the Rivers State House of Assembly asked the State’s Chief Judge to begin a probe of the administration of Fubara.
The Assembly also directed the Chief Judge to constitute a seven-member panel to probe allegations of gross misconduct against the Governor and his deputy.
The legal battle over Fubara’s impeachment shifts the crisis from the political arena to the courtroom, with the interim order expected to remain in effect for seven days.
The impeachment attempt is the third against Fubara since he took office in 2023, amid a prolonged power struggle linked to his rift with former Governor Nyesom Wike, now the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory.
The latest move intensified after Wike accused Fubara of violating a peace deal brokered by President Bola Tinubu in 2025.
The development also mirrors events that occurred in Rivers State before the emergency rule when conflicting court judgements were the order of the day.
