UPDATED: Rivers Chief Judge Rejects Assembly’s Request To Probe Fubara

Chief Judge of Rivers State, Simeon Amadi, has declined to constitute a judicial panel to probe Sim Fubara, governor of the state, citing a court judgement.

The Rivers State House of Assembly had asked Amadi to set up a seven-member panel to investigate Fubara and Ngozi Odu, his deputy, over allegations bordering on gross misconduct.

However, In a letter dated January 20, 2026, and addressed to Martin Amaewhule, speaker of the Rivers house of assembly, Amadi said his hands were “fettered” by court injunctions.

He explained that his office had been served with two interim orders on January 16, arising from suits filed by Fubara and Odu.

He said the order has expressly restrained him from considering or acting on any request, resolution or document relating to impeachment proceedings against the governor or deputy governor.

Recall that On January 8, the Rivers state parliament commenced impeachment proceedings against Fubara and his deputy.

The process was launched after the leader of the assembly, Major Jack, read gross misconduct charges against Fubara, endorsed by 26 members of the house.

On January 16, the lawmakers voted in favour of a motion requesting the chief judge to probe the gross misconduct allegations against Fubara and his deputy.

The allegations include budgetary impropriety, failure to present the 2026 appropriation bill to the assembly, unauthorised expenditure of public funds, withholding of statutory allocations to the legislature, and other acts deemed to constitute gross misconduct.

Subsequently, a high court in Port Harcourt issued an interim order restraining the chief judge from receiving or acting on any impeachment notice against Fubara and Odu.

Florence Fiberesima, the presiding judge, barred the chief judge from “receiving, forwarding, considering, or acting on any request, resolution, or articles of impeachment” submitted by members of the Rivers state house of assembly.

In his letter, Amadi noted that the Speaker had already appealed the interim orders at the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt, adding that notices of appeal were served on his office on January 19 and 20.

“By the doctrine of ‘lis pendens’, parties and the court have to await the outcome of the appeal.

“In view of the foregoing, my hand is fettered, as there are subsisting interim orders of injunction and appeal against the said orders. I am therefore legally disabled at this point from exercising my duties under Section 188(5) of the Constitution in the instant,” the letter reads.

Based on this, the chief judge asked the Rivers state assembly to be “magnanimous enough to appreciate the legal position of the matter”.