Indications have emerged that the Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simeon Chibuzor-Amadi, may not constitute a panel to investigate allegations against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Professor Ngozi Nma-Ordu, following a subsisting court order.
The order was issued on July 8, 2024, by the Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt and presided over by Justice Stephens Jumbo in Suit No. PHC/2177/CS/2024: Attorney-General of Rivers State vs. Martins Chike-Amaewhule and 32 others.
Justice Jumbo restrained the Chief Judge, who is the 31st defendant in the suit, from receiving or acting on any resolutions, articles of impeachment or related processes from the Martins Amaewhule-led House of Assembly, pending the determination of a motion on notice for an interlocutory injunction.
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Judicial sources disclosed that the order was subsequently extended by the court on July 15, 2024, pending the hearing and determination of the motion on notice. As of now, the order remains in force.
It was further gathered that the Martins Amaewhule-led Rivers State House of Assembly and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Rivers State chapter, have appealed against the ruling at the Court of Appeal in Appeal Nos: CA/PH/302/2024 and CA/PH/307/2024. The appeals are still pending.
The Court of Appeal has not set aside the order, and there is also no stay of execution. Meanwhile, our correspondent reports that pressure is allegedly being mounted on Justice Jumbo to vacate the order.
