Court stops impeachment move against Fubara, deputy

The latest development hours after the Rivers assembly resolved to continue the impeachment move against Governor Fubara and his Deputy Ngọzi Odu.

A Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt has issued an interim injunction restraining the state assembly from going ahead with its impeachment proceedings against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngọzi Odu.

Justice F. A. Fiberesima gave the ruling on Friday while granting motions ex parte in the two suits filed by Governor Fubara and Mrs Odu, a professor.

The two separate suits filed by the governor and his deputy were marked in Suit No. OYHC/7/CS/2026 and OYHC/6/CS/2026.

The 27 lawmakers, including the Speaker of the House, Martin Amaewhule, the clerk of the House, and the chief judge, were listed as defendants in the suits.

The court specifically restrained the Speaker of the assembly, Mr Amaewhule, and 32 others, including the clerk of the House, from sending any correspondence to the Chief Judge of the state, Simeon Chibuzor-Amadi.

PREMIUM TIMES reported that the House, on Friday, asked Mr Chibuzor-Amadi to set up a seven-member panel to investigate allegations of gross misconduct against the governor and his deputy.

But in the Friday ruling, Justice Fiberesima restrained Mr Chibuzor-Amadi from receiving, forwarding, considering or acting on any request, resolution, articles of impeachment or any form of communication from the 1st to the 27th defendants (the lawmakers) for the purpose of constituting a panel to investigate the alleged misconduct against the governor and his deputy for a period of seven days.

The court also granted leave to the governor and his deputy to serve the interim orders and originating processes on the 1st to the 31st defendants by pasting them at the gate of the Rivers State House of Assembly Quarters.

The court further directed that the interim orders and originating processes be served on the 32nd defendant, the chief judge of Rivers State, through any staff member of the judiciary at the Chief Judge’s Chambers within the high court premises.

The matter was thereafter adjourned to 23 January for the hearing of the motion on notice.

Background

On 8 January, Rivers State House of Assembly began impeachment proceedings against Governor Fubara and his Deputy, Mrs Odu, over alleged gross misconduct.

This is the third attempt by the lawmakers to impeach the Rivers governor since he was elected into office in 2023.

The impeachment move came shortly after the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory(FT), Nyesom Wike, accused the governor of reneging on the terms of a peace deal brokered by President Bola Tinubu in June last year.

A faction of the All Progressives Congress, aligned with Mr Fubara, immediately rejected the impeachment plot against the governor, calling for a political resolution to the crisis.

The call appeared to have yielded results when four lawmakers withdrew from the impeachment move against Governor Fubara.

On 15 January, the assembly failed to reconvene despite earlier shifting its sitting until the day. This fuelled speculations that the lawmakers might drop the impeachment move.

But on 16 January, the lawmakers announced that the impeachment process would proceed as earlier planned. Even the four lawmakers, who earlier withdrew their support, have again expressed their support for it.