Rivers State’s Chief Judge, Justice Simeon Amadi, has refused to set up a judicial panel to investigate Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Prof. Ngozi Odu, despite a request from the Rivers State House of Assembly to do so.
The move comes amid a brewing impeachment process initiated by the Assembly over alleged gross misconduct by the governor and his deputy. Lawmakers had asked Justice Amadi to constitute a seven-member panel to look into the allegations.
But in a letter dated January 20, 2026 and addressed to Speaker Martins Amaewhule, the Chief Judge said he could not comply because of existing court orders.
“My office is also in receipt of two separate court orders of interim injunction … restraining the … Hon. Chief Judge of Rivers State, from receiving, forwarding, considering or howsoever acting on any request, resolution, articles of impeachment or other documents … for the purpose of constituting a panel to investigate the purported allegations of misconduct,” Justice Amadi wrote in the letter.
The judge explained that the interim orders were served on his office on January 16 and remain in force, preventing him from receiving or acting on the Assembly’s request.
He added: “By the doctrine of ‘lis pendens’, parties and the court have to await the outcome of the appeal.”
Justice Amadi also said his “hands are fettered” by the existing injunctions and notices of appeal and that he is “therefore legally disabled at this point from exercising my duties under Section 188(5) of the Constitution in this instant.”
The Chief Judge cited constitutionalism and the rule of law as reasons he must respect subsisting court orders, regardless of differing views on their validity. He referenced a 2007 precedent where a judge was condemned for ignoring a restraining order when setting up an investigative panel, with the decision later voided by the Court of Appeal.
Justice Amadi urged the Assembly to be “magnanimous enough to appreciate the legal position of the matter” and allow the legal process — including the ongoing appeal — to play out before any further action.
