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...Awards N2m Damages Against Rivers Assembly
The Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has nullified the arrest order issued by the Rivers State House of Assembly against the Vice-Chancellor of PAMO University of Medical Sciences, Professor Smith Jaja, over his failure to appear before an ad hoc committee of the legislature.
The court also awarded N2 million in damages against the Assembly and issued a perpetual injunction restraining it, the police and other security agencies from interfering with the fundamental rights of the university don.
Justice Frank Onyiri, who delivered the judgment on Friday, October 30, 2026, held that the Assembly acted beyond its constitutional powers in issuing the arrest order against the applicant.
The judge faulted the Assembly's decision to constitute a committee to investigate the employer of the applicant under Section 128 of the 1999 Constitution, describing the exercise as a sham, particularly as the 2026 Appropriation Act had already been passed and signed into law.
Justice Onyiri maintained that the legislature had no constitutional authority to indict individuals or determine their guilt, explaining that its investigative powers under Section 128 were limited to gathering evidence for constitutionally prescribed purposes.
Consequently, the court declared null and void the Assembly's order for the arrest of Professor Jaja following his failure to honour an invitation by its ad hoc committee on September 25.
The judgment followed a fundamental rights enforcement suit instituted by the PAMO Vice-Chancellor against the Rivers State House of Assembly over alleged violations of his constitutionally guaranteed rights.
The court upheld his entitlement to the protection of his fundamental rights under the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights.
It consequently awarded N2 million in damages against the Assembly in favour of Professor Jaja.
Reacting to the judgment, counsel to PAMO University of Medical Sciences, Dr. CAJ Chinwo and M.S. Agu, who appeared on behalf of E.C. Ukala, SAN, commended the court for what they described as a sound judicial pronouncement.
The judgment, which lasted approximately 90 minutes, marks a significant development in the dispute between the university and the Rivers State House of Assembly over scholarship-related issues.
