The Chief Judge (CJ) of Rivers State, Justice Simeon Amadi, has declined the request by the Rivers State Assembly to constitute a judicial panel to investigate Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Ngozi Odu, citing court orders.
Rivers State Assembly had asked the Chief Judge to set up a seven-member judicial panel to probe the governor and his deputy over allegations of gross misconduct.
However, Justice Amadi, in a letter dated January 20 and addressed to the Speaker of the House, Martins Amaewhule, said he was constrained by two court orders which expressly prohibit him from receiving, forwarding, or considering any request to constitute such a panel.
According to Justice Amadi, the court orders were served on his office on January 16 and remain valid and binding.
The CJ stressed that as long as the orders subsist, he is legally restrained from acceding to the Assembly’s request.
Reacting to the development, rights lawyer and Doctoral Researcher at Robert Gordon University, UK, Mr Kamo said it’s not yet Uhuru for the Rivers State Governor.
Mr Sende, however, was quick to point out that the “time” to impeach Governor Fubara has been “effectively frozen.”
“Governor Fubara may be sighting the shore, but he has not swum there yet. Everything now depends on the outcome of the court proceedings. Until then, politically speaking, the hangman’s noose has not been removed from Gov Sim Fubara’s neck. He has won one battle; the war is far from over,” Mr Sende submitted.
