Rivers Chief Judge Declines Assembly Request To Probe Governor Fubara
The Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simeon Amadi, has declined a request by the Rivers State House of Assembly to constitute a judicial panel to investigate Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu, citing subsisting court orders.
The Assembly had asked the chief judge to set up a seven-member panel to probe the governor and his deputy over allegations of gross misconduct.
However, in a letter dated January 20 and addressed to the Speaker of the House, Martins Amaewhule, Justice Amadi said he was legally restrained from acting on the request due to existing court injunctions.
According to the chief judge, two court orders served on his office on January 16, 2026, expressly barred him from receiving, processing or acting on any request to constitute an investigative panel on the matter. He noted that the orders remain valid and binding.
Justice Amadi stressed that constitutionalism and the rule of law require strict obedience to court orders, regardless of personal opinions about their correctness.
Read Also: Rivers Assembly Insists on Fubara, Odu Impeachment, Accuses Governor of Constitutional Violations
He cited a precedent from 2007 in which the Chief Judge of Kwara State was faulted for ignoring a restraining court order while setting up a similar investigative panel, a decision that was subsequently nullified by the Court of Appeal.
The chief judge further disclosed that the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly has filed an appeal against the restraining orders at the Court of Appeal, thereby placing the matter under active judicial consideration.
Invoking the legal doctrine of lis pendens, Justice Amadi said all parties are required to maintain the status quo and await the outcome of the appeal.
“In view of the subsisting interim orders of injunction and the pending appeal, my hands are fettered,” he stated, adding that he is legally disabled from exercising his powers under Section 188(5) of the 1999 Constitution at this time.
Justice Amadi urged members of the House of Assembly to appreciate the legal constraints surrounding the issue and allow due process to run its full course.