By Eteteonline
On Thursday, January 8, 2026, the House of Assembly initiated new impeachment procedures against Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his Deputy, Prof. Ngozi Nma-Odu, giving them seven days to address accusations of egregious misconduct, escalating the political situation in Rivers State.
Governor Fubara is accused by the Rivers State House of Assembly of egregious misbehavior, mostly related to financial, administrative, and constitutional infractions. The following general categories apply to the allegations: Unconstitutional legislative obstruction, unlawful financial and budgetary practices, judicial meddling, disregard for court rulings, and the use of security forces to bar members from entering the Assembly premises.
According to Section 188 of the Nigerian Constitution, gross misconduct—defined as acts that constitute a serious constitutional breach or misconduct incompatible with the office of governor—is what leads to impeachment. The legislators contend that these acts’ aggregate weight satisfies that requirement.
Since taking power in 2023, the Assembly has impeached Fubara and Odu three times.
On January 16, the Amaehwule-led Assembly requested that the Chief Judge appoint a seven-member panel to look into the accusations made against Odu and Fubara.
The governor and his deputy filed the lawsuit to stop the impeachment process.
While the case was pending, the Speaker, lawmakers, and the Chief Judge of Rivers State were prohibited from pursuing impeachment proceedings by an interim injunction given by the same court.
The Chief Judge claimed he was prevented from taking any further action by an ongoing High Court decision, even though he confirmed receiving the Assembly’s resolution to form the seven-member impeachment panel to look into the governor.
The lawsuit brought by Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Prof. Ngozi Nma-Odu, challenging the impeachment process started by the Rivers State House of Assembly was adjourned indefinitely (sine die) by the Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt on January 23, 2026. Due to the court’s ruling, no new hearing date has been scheduled as of yet.
The suit’s defendants, including Speaker Martin Amaewhule, 26 legislators, and others, informed the court that two distinct appeals had already been filed at the Court of Appeal, which caused the case to be postponed.
Justice Florence Fiberesima, the judge, concurred that the High Court should halt additional proceedings until the appellate court renders a decision regarding those appeals.
By doing this, the Court of Appeal becomes the primary focus of the legal dispute.
This implies that since the trial court isn’t moving further until the appeals are resolved, the impeachment process is essentially on pause for the time being. The case is still pending, although not at the High Court level; the Court of Appeal will hear it next.
Pending appeals, the case has been postponed indefinitely by the Rivers State High Court. The veracity of the accusations has not yet been decided.
This raises political questions regarding the timing for impeachment and the possibility of a parliamentary restart.
Governor Fubara calls the impeachment process politically motivated and refutes all of the accusations.
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