Rivers CJ Declines to Set Up Impeachment Panel Over Court Orders

The Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Chibuzor Simeon Amadi, has declined to constitute a seven-member panel to investigate allegations of gross misconduct against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Ordu.

Justice Amadi made this known in a letter dated January 20, 2026, addressed to the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martins Amaewhule.

In the letter, the Chief Judge cited two subsisting court orders restraining him from receiving, processing or acting on any request to constitute an investigative panel. He said the orders were served on his office on January 16, 2026, and remain in force.

According to him, the principles of constitutionalism and the rule of law require strict obedience to valid court orders by all authorities, regardless of personal views on their correctness.

Justice Amadi also referenced legal precedents, recalling that in a similar situation in 2007, the Chief Judge of Kwara State was faulted for ignoring a restraining court order while setting up an investigative panel, a move that was later nullified by the Court of Appeal.

He further noted that the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly has already filed an appeal against the restraining orders at the Court of Appeal, adding that this has further complicated the legal issues surrounding the allegations.

The development effectively stalls the impeachment process against the governor and his deputy, pending the determination of the appeals and the resolution of the subsisting court orders.