Chief Judge Not Free To Set Up Impeachment Panel In Rivers

By PHC Telegraph

Despite wrong signals that are being sent to unsuspecting members of the public, leading some of them to break into jubilation, the Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simon Amadi may not be appointing a seven-man impeachment panel, at least not yet.

The high court on Friday, 23 January, 2026 set aside an interim order sought earlier by Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his Deputy, Professor Ngozi Odu.

Justice Fiberesima who presided also adjourned the entire matter before her in deference to a pending appeal.

“The removal of the Oyigbo High Court’s interim injunction does not automatically free the Chief Judge (CJ)”, a constitutional lawyer told this publication.

The CJ is already on record as citing subsisting court orders from other jurisdictions and pending appeals as constraints.

Once any appeal touching on impeachment-related proceedings is alive, especially one capable of affecting jurisdiction or legality, a cautious CJ is unlikely to act, a senior lawyer observed.

According to what we have gathered, Chief Judges avoid actions that may later be nullified by appellate courts, particularly in politically sensitive matters such as the one in Rivers State.

What is unfolding is not a determination of guilt, misconduct, or impeachment validity, but a jurisdictional and procedural chess game:

The executive side is testing the courts’ willingness to restrain legislative action.
The legislature is asserting constitutional powers.
The judiciary, especially the CJ, is carefully avoiding any step that could be viewed as contemptuous of appellate authority.

Until the appeal is heard and resolved, the impeachment process remains legally suspended in practice, even if not expressly barred by a subsisting injunction.