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The Chief Judge of Rivers State, Hon. Justice Simeon C. Amadi, has formally notified the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly and its members that he is legally restrained from taking any step in the ongoing impeachment process involving the Governor and Deputy Governor of the state.
In a detailed letter dated January 20, 2026 and addressed to the Speaker, Justice Amadi disclosed that his office received two separate interim injunctions issued on January 16, 2026, by the Rivers State High Court in two pending suits. The suits are marked OYHC/6/CS/2026 and OYHC/7/CS/2026.
The first suit was filed by the Deputy Governor of Rivers State, Prof. Ngozi Nma Odu, against the Speaker, Rt. Hon. Martin Amaewhule, and 32 others. The second suit was instituted by Governor Siminalayi Fubara against the Speaker and 32 other defendants.
According to the Chief Judge, both court orders expressly restrain him, as the 32nd defendant in the suits, from receiving, forwarding, considering or acting in any manner on requests, resolutions, articles of impeachment or related communications from the House of Assembly for the purpose of constituting a panel to investigate allegations of misconduct against the claimants for a period of seven days.
Justice Amadi stated that certified true copies of the interim orders were duly served on his office on the same day they were issued. He emphasised that under constitutionalism and the rule of law, all persons and authorities are bound to obey subsisting court orders, regardless of any perception about their validity, until such orders are set aside by a court of competent jurisdiction.
The Chief Judge further cited established case law, including Hon. Dele Abiodun v. The Hon. Chief Judge of Kwara State & Ors (2007) 18 NWLR, in which the Court of Appeal strongly condemned a Chief Judge who proceeded to constitute a panel in defiance of a subsisting restraining order, declaring the entire process void.
He also disclosed that the Speaker has already lodged appeals against the interim orders at the Court of Appeal, Port Harcourt Division, and that the Notices of Appeal were served on his office on January 19 and 20, 2026. By the doctrine of lis pendens, Justice Amadi noted, all parties are required to maintain the status quo pending the determination of the appeals.
“In view of the foregoing, my hand is fettered,” the Chief Judge stated, adding that he is legally disabled, for now, from exercising his duties under Section 188(5) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which empowers a Chief Judge to constitute a panel in impeachment proceedings.
Justice Amadi expressed hope that the Speaker and honourable members of the Rivers State House of Assembly would appreciate the prevailing legal position and act accordingly, stressing that adherence to the rule of law remains the foundation of democracy.
