A Rivers State High Court sitting in Oyigbo Local Government Area has temporarily stopped all actions connected to the impeachment moves against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Nma-Odu, as the political crisis in the state deepens.
In an interim ruling delivered on Friday, January 16, in Port Harcourt, the court restrained the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martin Amaewhule, and 32 other parties, including the Clerk of the Assembly and the Chief Judge of Rivers State, from taking any further steps to advance the impeachment process.
The court specifically barred the Chief Judge, Justice Simeon Chibuzor-Amadi, from receiving, processing, or acting on any impeachment-related resolutions or requests from the House, including the constitution of an investigative panel.
The order is to last for seven days, pending further proceedings.
First Daily earlier reported that The Rivers State House of Assembly on Friday, resolved to invite the state’s Chief Judge to investigate allegations of gross misconduct against Fubara and his deputy.
Justice Florence Fiberesima granted the injunction after hearing separate ex parte motions filed by Governor Fubara and his deputy. The suits were marked OYHC/7/CS/2026 and OYHC/6/CS/2026.
The judge also authorised substituted service on the first to the thirty-first defendants by allowing court documents to be pasted at the entrance of the Rivers State Assembly quarters.
The Chief Judge, listed as the thirty-second defendant, is to be served through any judicial staff at his chambers within the court premises.
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The matter was adjourned to January 23, 2026, for the hearing of the motion on notice, effectively moving the impeachment battle from the legislature to the courtroom.
The court intervention followed a resolution passed by the Rivers State House of Assembly on Friday, calling on the Chief Judge to set up a panel to investigate allegations of gross misconduct against the governor and his deputy.
The lawmakers, who adopted the resolution unanimously, had insisted they would push ahead with the impeachment process.
Earlier, members of the Assembly held a press briefing in Port Harcourt, where they accused Governor Fubara of intimidation and blackmail.
The deputy speaker, Dumle Maol, said the governor lacked the credibility to manage the crisis rocking the oil-rich state.
The lawmakers also alleged constitutional breaches by the governor and his deputy, arguing that impeachment was their only remaining option.
They nevertheless thanked President Bola Tinubu for intervening in the standoff and urged Speaker Amaewhule to reconvene the House.
The impeachment push, launched weeks ago on allegations of gross negligence, has continued to heighten political tension across Rivers State.