The lawsuit filed by Rivers State Governor Sir Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Prof. Ngozi Nma Odu, challenging their impeachment by the State Assembly, has suffered a setback after the Oyigbo High Court adjourned the matter indefinitely.
Presiding Judge Florence Fiberesima, sitting in Port Harcourt, made the ruling on Friday following the disclosure that the Assembly had filed an appeal. The court adjournment came after the lead counsel to Martins Amaewhule and 26 members of the Assembly, Senior Advocate of Nigeria S.I. Amen, informed the court of the appeal and requested that further proceedings be suspended pending its determination.
Fubara and Odu had filed the suit to challenge impeachment proceedings initiated by the Assembly, which cited alleged gross misconduct. The deputy governor had also sought the intervention of the Chief Judge of Rivers State, Justice Simeon Amadi, to establish a seven-member panel to investigate the allegations. An interim order had previously restrained Chief Judge Amadi from receiving or acting on the Assembly’s request.
Counsel for the claimants, Paul Orikoro, SAN, and Lawrence Oko-Jaja, representing additional defendants, did not oppose the Assembly’s request for suspension. Justice Fiberesima, after considering the appeals, adjourned the case sine die, noting that the appellate court must first rule on the matter before proceedings in the High Court could continue.
The adjournment leaves the impeachment challenge in limbo as stakeholders await the outcome of the appeals, which could determine whether the Fubara-Odu administration retains its mandate or faces further political uncertainty.
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