The Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simeon Amadi, has declined a request by the Rivers State House of Assembly to constitute a judicial panel to investigate Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu, over allegations of gross misconduct.
Justice Amadi’s decision was conveyed in a letter dated January 20 and addressed to the Speaker of the House, Martins Amaewhule. In the letter, the chief judge cited subsisting court orders that restrain him from receiving, processing or acting on any request to set up an investigative panel in the matter.
According to him, the court orders were served on his office on January 16, 2026, and remain valid and binding.
The chief judge stressed that constitutionalism and the rule of law require strict obedience to court orders by all authorities, regardless of any personal or institutional views about the correctness of such orders.
He referenced judicial precedents, recalling a similar incident in 2007 when the Chief Judge of Kwara State was faulted for disregarding a restraining court order while setting up a panel of inquiry. That action, he noted, was later nullified by the Court of Appeal.
Justice Amadi further observed that the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly has already filed an appeal against the restraining orders at the Court of Appeal, thereby deepening the legal processes surrounding the allegations.
Invoking the doctrine of lis pendens, he said all parties and the court are required to await the outcome of the appeal before taking further steps on the matter.
“In view of the foregoing, my hand is fettered, as there are subsisting interim orders of injunction and an 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 this instance,” the chief judge stated.
Justice Amadi appealed to the lawmakers to appreciate the legal constraints surrounding the issue and urged the House to recognise the constitutional and judicial limitations currently in place.
The development adds another layer to the ongoing legal and political tension surrounding the allegations against the Rivers State governor and his deputy.
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