A Rivers State High Court has adjourned indefinitely the suit filed by Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Professor Ngozi Nma-Odu, challenging the impeachment process initiated against them by the Speaker and members of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
The matter, presided over by Justice Florence Fiberesima of the Oyigbo Judicial Division, was adjourned sine die on Tuesday following confirmation that two separate appeals arising from the suit have been formally filed at the appellate court.
The judge held that the development made it prudent to halt further proceedings at the trial court to allow the Court of Appeal to determine the issues placed before it.
At the resumed hearing, lead counsel to the Speaker of the House of Assembly, Martin Chike-Amaewhule, and 27 other lawmakers, Mr S.I. Amen, SAN, informed the court that an appeal had been duly filed against earlier rulings in the case. He consequently made an oral application urging the court to stay proceedings pending the determination of the appeal.
The application was not opposed by the claimants’ lead counsel, Mr Paul Oritikoro, SAN. Also aligning with the application was Mr Lawrence Oko-Jaja, SAN, counsel to defendants listed as numbers 28 to 30, namely Oko Jumbo, Sokari Goodboy, and Orubienimigha Timothy.
In her ruling, Justice Fiberesima noted that proof of two separate appeals had been presented before the court. She explained that continuing with the substantive suit in the face of pending appeals could result in conflicting decisions, stressing that the interest of justice would be better served by allowing the appellate court to first pronounce on the matter. The case was accordingly adjourned sine die.
The suit before Justice Fiberesima was instituted by Governor Fubara and his deputy to challenge the impeachment moves initiated by the Speaker, 26 other members of the Rivers State House of Assembly, and the Clerk of the House, whom they accused of acting in breach of constitutional provisions.
The development comes against the backdrop of an earlier interim order issued by a Rivers State High Court sitting in Oyigbo Local Government Area, also sitting in Port Harcourt. In that ruling, the court granted an interim injunction restraining the Speaker, Martin Chike-Amaewhule, and 32 others — including the Clerk of the House and the Chief Judge of Rivers State — from taking further steps in the impeachment process.
Specifically, the interim order barred the Speaker and 27 other lawmakers from forwarding any notice of allegations, articles of impeachment, or related documents to the Chief Judge for the purpose of setting up an investigative panel into alleged gross misconduct against the governor and his deputy.
The court also restrained the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Simeon Chibuzor-Amadi, from receiving, considering, or acting on any such communication for a period of seven days.
The legal tussle is the latest twist in the protracted political crisis rocking Rivers State, with the impeachment moves and counter-litigation deepening tensions between the executive and the legislature.
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