Rivers CJ: Why I Declined Assembly’s Request To Constitute Panel To Probe Fubara, Deputy

THE Chief Judge (CJ) of Rivers State, Justice Simeon Amadi, has cited court order as the reason why he declined to set up a seven-member panel to investigate Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his Deputy, Ngozi Odu, in the ongoing impeachment process.
In a letter addressed to the Speaker of the Assembly, Martin Amaewhule, Amadi urged the lawmakers and other parties to respect the rule of law.
Recall that the Assembly had, on January 16, requested the chief judge to constitute a panel to probe alleged gross misconduct by Fubara and Odu, as stipulated in Section 188 of the Nigerian Constitution (as amended), following its commencement of impeachment proceedings against them.
Fubara and Odu had separately approached the State High Court in Port Harcourt and obtained interim injunctions restraining the CJ from receiving, considering or acting on any request or resolution from the Assembly regarding the panel.
Amadi, in his letter of January 20, confirmed receipt of both the Assembly’s request, as well as the two separate court orders of interim injunction issued on 16th January, 2026 in two suits, restraining him “from receiving, forwarding, considering or howsoever acting on any request, resolution, articles of impeachment or other documents from the Assembly for the purpose of constituting a panel to investigate the purported allegations of misconduct.”
He stressed the importance of constitutionalism and compliance with the rule of law, adding that the lawmakers had appealed the interim orders and under the doctrine of lis pendens, all parties must await the outcome of the appeals before any action is taken.
According to him: “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.
“In view of the foregoing, my hand is fettered, as there are subsisting interim orders of injunction and appeal against the said orders.
“I am, therefore, legally disabled at this point from exercising my duties under Section 188(5) of the Constitution in this instance.”
He referred to legal precedents in a similar case in 2007, where 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.
Amadi further observed that Amaewhule has already filed an appeal against the court orders at the Court of Appeal, urging the lawmakers to be “magnanimous enough to appreciate the legal position of the matter.”