Chibuzor Amadi, the chief judge of Rivers State, has declined to constitute a seven-member investigative panel to probe allegations of gross misconduct against Siminalayi Fubara, the state’s governor, and Ngozi Odu, his deputy, citing subsisting court orders restraining him from taking such action.
In a letter dated January 20, 2026, and addressed to the speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, the chief judge acknowledged receipt of two separate requests from the legislature seeking the appointment of an investigative panel under Section 188(5) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended).
The letter, referenced RSD/JUD/CJ/RSHAS/VOL.226, stated that the requests were received on January 16, 2026, alongside “voluminous documents on the subject-matters.” However, Amadi said he was constrained from acting due to interim injunctions issued by the Rivers State High Court.
“My office is also in receipt of two separate court orders of interim injunction issued on 16th January, 2026 in two suits,” the chief judge wrote, referring to suits filed separately by Fubara and Odu against the speaker and members of the assembly.
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He cited Suit No. OYHC/6/CS/2026 filed by Odu and Suit No. OYHC/7/CS/2026 filed by Fubara, noting that the chief judge was named as the 32nd defendant in both matters and that the orders were served on his office the same day.
Quoting directly from the court orders, Amadi said they restrained him from “receiving, forwarding, considering and or however acting on any request, resolution, articles of impeachment or other documents or communication” from the assembly for the purpose of constituting an investigative panel “for seven days.”
“For the avoidance of doubt,” the letter added, “constitutionalism and the Rule of Law are the bedrock of democracy and all persons and authorities are expected to obey subsisting orders of court of competent jurisdiction.”
The chief judge further warned that acting in defiance of the injunctions could invalidate the entire process, citing the Court of Appeal decision in Hon. Dele Abiodun v. The Hon. Chief Judge of Kwara State & Ors (2007), where impeachment proceedings conducted in violation of a court order were nullified.
“I liken the scenario created by the Chief Judge to the position of a chief priest and custodian of an oracle turning round to desecrate the oracle,” the Court of Appeal held in that case, a passage the chief judge reproduced in his letter.
Two weeks ago, the Rivers State House of Assembly had initiated impeachment proceedings against Fubara and his deputy, accusing them of budgetary impropriety, unauthorised expenditure, failure to present the 2026 appropriation bill, and withholding statutory allocations due to the legislature.
