The Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simeon Amadi, has declined to set up a judicial panel to investigate Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, and Rivers State Deputy Governor, Ngozi Odu, citing a subsisting court order that restricts such action.
Okay News reports that the Rivers State House of Assembly, the legislature of Rivers State in southern Nigeria, had asked the Chief Judge to constitute a seven-member panel to examine allegations of gross misconduct levelled against the Governor and his Deputy.
In a letter dated Tuesday, 20 January 2026, and addressed to the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martins Amawhule, Justice Amadi said he could not proceed because of court orders that restrain him from considering or acting on requests connected to the impeachment process against the Governor and the Deputy Governor.
The development is the latest twist in the escalating political and legal contest surrounding the attempted impeachment moves against Governor Fubara, who leads one of Nigeria’s major oil-producing states, with Port Harcourt serving as the state capital and a key hub in the Niger Delta region.
Under Nigeria’s constitutional framework, when a state legislature presses allegations of gross misconduct against a sitting governor, a judicial panel is expected to play a central role in investigating those claims, after which lawmakers may proceed based on the panel’s findings.
However, the court orders referenced by the Chief Judge have created an immediate legal barrier, effectively pausing the panel stage of the process unless the restraining orders are varied, set aside, or overturned through further court proceedings.
While the Rivers State House of Assembly may choose to challenge the court orders through an appeal, the Chief Judge’s position, as outlined in his letter, is that he is bound to comply with the current directives of the court.
