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 based his decision on existing court orders restraining him from receiving, processing, or acting on any request to set up such a panel.
In a letter dated January 20 and addressed to the Speaker of the House, Martins Amaewhule, the chief judge disclosed that two separate court orders served on his office on January 16, 2026 expressly barred him from taking steps toward the constitution of an investigative panel.
He noted that the orders remain valid and binding.
The chief judge stressed that constitutionalism and the rule of law demand strict obedience to subsisting court orders, regardless of personal or institutional views about their propriety.
Justice Amadi also referred to judicial precedents, recalling a 2007 case in which the Chief Judge of Kwara State was criticised for disregarding a restraining order before setting up an investigative panel.
That action, he noted, was later nullified by the Court of Appeal.
He further observed that the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly has already lodged an appeal against the court orders at the Court of Appeal, thereby deepening the legal contest surrounding the matter.
According to him, the doctrine of lis pendens requires that parties and institutions maintain the status quo until the appeal is determined.
“The existence of subsisting injunctions and a pending appeal has effectively tied my hands,” Justice Amadi said, adding that he is legally incapacitated from exercising his constitutional responsibility under Section 188(5) of the 1999 Constitution at this time.
The chief judge appealed to lawmakers to acknowledge the legal limitations imposed by the court orders and urged the Assembly to be magnanimous in appreciating the prevailing legal position.
