A High Court sitting in Oyigbo, Rivers State, has indefinitely suspended the cases filed by Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu, challenging the impeachment process initiated against them by the Rivers State House of Assembly.
At the court session, counsel to the defendants, S. I. Amen, informed the court that an appeal on the same subject matter was already pending before a higher court. He urged the court to halt further proceedings until the appeal is resolved. The request was not opposed by Paul Erokoro, lead counsel to the claimants, nor by Lawrence Oko-Jaja, who represents the 28th, 29th, and 30th defendants.
Following the submissions, the presiding judge, Justice Florence Fiberesima, ordered that the case be suspended indefinitely, pending the outcome of the appeal. She noted that the decision of the appellate court would determine how the matter would proceed at the trial court.
Justice Fiberesima also suspended an earlier ex parte order she had issued, which restrained the state Chief Judge from receiving or acting on any impeachment notice against the governor and his deputy.
The impeachment process against Governor Fubara and his deputy was initiated earlier by the Rivers State House of Assembly after allegations of gross misconduct were read on the floor of the House by the assembly leader, Major Jack, with the backing of 26 lawmakers. The lawmakers subsequently passed a resolution requesting the Chief Judge to constitute a seven-member panel to investigate the allegations.
The allegations include misuse of budgetary allocations, failure to present the 2026 budget to the House, unauthorised expenditure of public funds, withholding of statutory allocations meant for the legislature, and other actions described as gross misconduct.
However, following an ex parte application by the governor and his deputy, the court had earlier issued interim orders barring the Chief Judge, Simeon Amadi, from taking any steps in the impeachment process. In a letter to the Speaker of the House, Martin Amaewhule, Amadi confirmed that he declined to set up the investigative panel because his office had been served with two court orders restraining him from acting on any impeachment-related request.
The matter will now remain on hold until the appeal court delivers its ruling.
