The Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Chibuzor Simeon Amadi, has declined a request to constitute a seven-member panel to investigate allegations of gross misconduct against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his Deputy, Ngozi Ordu.
In a letter dated January 20, 2026, and addressed to the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martins Amaewhule, Justice Amadi explained that his decision was based on two subsisting court orders restraining him from receiving, processing, or acting on any request to establish such a panel.
He noted that the orders were served on his office on January 16, 2026, and remain valid.
The Chief Judge stressed that the principles of constitutionalism and the rule of law obligate all authorities to comply with existing court orders, regardless of any personal or institutional views about their correctness.
He cited judicial precedents to support his position, recalling that in a similar situation in 2007, the Chief Judge of Kwara State was faulted for disregarding a restraining court order when he constituted an investigative panel. That action, he noted, was subsequently nullified by the Court of Appeal.
Justice Amadi also pointed out that the Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly has already lodged an appeal against the court orders at the Court of Appeal, further complicating the legal processes surrounding the allegations.
