The impeachment process against Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State and his deputy, Prof Ngozi Odu, has been stalled after the Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simeon Amadi, formally declined the request by the State House of Assembly to constitute a seven-man investigative panel.
Justice Amadi made this decision known in a letter dated January 20, 2026, and made public on Thursday, January 22.
The development has effectively stalled the impeachment process against Fubara and marks a major setback for the Martins Amaewhule-led House of Assembly in their ongoing bid to oust the state’s top executives.
The Chief Judge said his decision to decline the constitution of the investigative panel stemmed from a subsisting interim injunction issued by a Rivers State High Court on January 16, 2026.
Pan-Atlantic Kompass had reported that the court order explicitly barred the Office of the Chief Judge from receiving or forwarding impeachment-related resolutions, considering any request to form an investigative panel, and acting on any communication from the 27 lawmakers involved in the impeachment process.
Justice Amadi emphasized that his “hands are legally tied” by these court orders. He noted that as long as the injunctions remain in force, any attempt to proceed with the Assembly’s request would constitute a direct assault on the rule of law and the doctrine of lis pendens (pending litigation).
The Chief Judge emphasized that constitutionalism and the rule of law require all authorities to obey subsisting court orders, irrespective of their perception of the orders’ validity.
He referenced legal precedents, noting that in a similar case in 2007, the Chief Judge of Kwara State was condemned for ignoring a restraining court order when setting up an investigative panel, a decision later voided by the Court of Appeal.
Justice Amadi further observed that the Speaker has already filed an appeal against the court orders at the Court of Appeal, adding another layer to the ongoing legal proceedings surrounding the allegations.
The letter reads in part: “Constitutionalism and the Rule of Law are the bedrock of democracy and all persons and authorities are expected to obey subsisting orders of court of competent jurisdiction, irrespective of perception of its regularity or otherwise.
Given the above scenario, our legal jurisprudence enjoins the parties to obey the order of interim injunction until it is set aside or the suit is finally determined.
“Case laws vindicate this position:
In the case of HON. DELE ABIODUN Vs. THE HON. CHIEF JUDGE OF KWARA STATE & 3 ORS. (2007) 18 NWLR, 109-169 is apposite. In that case, the Chief Judge of Kwara State who proceeded to set up 5-man panel to investigate the allegations levelled against the Appellant despite a subsisting restraining order of court and pending suit was roundly condemned in strong language and voided the entire proceedings.”
The development comes after the Rivers State House of Assembly asked the Chief Judge to set up an investigative panel as part of the impeachment process against Fubara.
The allegations against the governor and his deputy include budgetary impropriety, failure to present the 2026 Appropriation Bill to the assembly, unauthorised expenditure of public funds, withholding of statutory allocations to the legislature, and other acts deemed to constitute gross misconduct.
