BY GODWIN OBI
A Rivers State High Court sitting in Oyigbo Local Government Area has issued an interim injunction halting further action on the impeachment process against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Nma-Odu.
The court restrained the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martin Amaewhule, alongside 32 other defendants—including the Clerk of the House and the Chief Judge of Rivers State—from taking steps to advance the impeachment proceedings.
In the ruling delivered in Port Harcourt, the court specifically barred the Chief Judge, Justice Simeon Chibuzor-Amadi, from receiving, forwarding, considering, or acting on any impeachment-related request or resolution from the House of Assembly for the purpose of constituting an investigative panel. The order is to subsist for seven days.
The injunction was granted by Justice Florence Fiberesima following the hearing of motions ex parte filed separately by Governor Fubara and his deputy.
In the two suits—marked OYHC/7/CS/2026 and OYHC/6/CS/2026—the court also granted the claimants leave to serve the interim order and other originating processes on the first to the 31st defendants by pasting them at the gate of the Rivers State Assembly quarters.
The court further directed that the Chief Judge, listed as the 32nd defendant, be served through any staff of the judiciary at his chambers within the court premises.
Justice Fiberesima adjourned the matter to January 23, 2026, for hearing of the motion on notice, as the dispute over the impeachment process moves fully into the courtroom.
Assembly’s Position
On Friday, the Rivers State House of Assembly had formally urged the Chief Judge to constitute a panel to investigate allegations of gross misconduct against Governor Fubara and his deputy.
The lawmakers, who reached the decision through a unanimous vote, vowed to proceed with the impeachment process.
Earlier, the Assembly members addressed a press conference in Port Harcourt, accusing the governor of blackmail and intimidation of the legislature.
Addressing journalists, Deputy Speaker Dumle Maol claimed Governor Fubara lacked the credibility needed to resolve the political crisis in the oil-rich state.
The lawmakers alleged that the governor and his deputy had violated provisions of the 1999 Constitution, insisting that impeachment was the only option left to the Assembly.
They, however, thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for intervening in the crisis and called on Speaker Martin Amaewhule to reconvene the House.
The impeachment move, initiated weeks ago over allegations of gross negligence, has significantly heightened political tension in Rivers State.
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