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The Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simeon Amadi, has refused to set up a panel to investigate Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Prof. Ngozi Odu, even though the Rivers State House of Assembly asked him to.
Justice Amadi said he could not take action because there are court orders stopping him from doing so. In a letter dated January 20, 2026, addressed to the Speaker of the House, Martin Amaewhule, he explained that two interim injunctions issued by a High Court in Oyigbo are still in force.
The judge said the orders, served on his office on January 16, bar him from receiving or acting on any impeachment documents from the House. “My hand is fettered,” he wrote, meaning he is legally unable to act on the request.
The injunctions were obtained by suits filed separately by Governor Fubara and Deputy Governor Odu, and they prevent the Chief Judge from starting any impeachment process for now. The House of Assembly has appealed these orders at the Court of Appeal in Port Harcourt.
Justice Amadi also stressed that court orders must be obeyed until they are set aside. He cited legal precedents where judges were faulted for ignoring restraining orders.
The Rivers State House of Assembly has been trying to impeach Governor Fubara and Deputy Governor Odu over alleged gross misconduct. The impeachment fight is now tied up in the courts, pending the appeal and further hearings.
This is not the first political clash involving Governor Fubara. He has been in a long-running dispute with his former political ally, Nyesom Wike — now the Federal Capital Territory Minister — since 2023. The crisis once led to emergency rule in the state, with President Bola Tinubu appointing a temporary administrator for six months in 2025.
During the first sitting of the 2026 Assembly, lawmakers also demanded that the governor present the 2026 budget and submit names of commissioners for screening, demands he has not yet met.
Some groups have weighed in on the crisis. The Pan Niger Delta Forum (PANDEF) called the dispute an “internal family affair” and urged all sides to resolve it through dialogue rather than confrontation. They are working with a peace committee to mediate between the partie
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