By our Reporter
Justice Florence Fiberesima of the Oyigbo High Court of Rivers State, sitting in Port Harcourt, on Friday adjourned indefinitely the suit filed by Governor Siminalayi Fubara and his deputy, Professor Ngozi Odu, challenging the impeachment processes against them by the Speaker of the State House of Assembly and 26 other members, as well as the Clerk of the House.
At the resumption of the hearing on the matter on Friday, lead counsel to Martin Amaewhule and 26 other members of the assembly, S.I Amen, a SAN, informed the court about the appeal which has been entered and orally applied to the court to stop further hearing pending the determination of the appeal.
The oral applications were not opposed by the lead claimants’ counsel, Paul Orikobo, SAN, and Lawrence Oko-Jaja, who is the counsel to the 28th to 30th defendants in the court, who are Okonkwo Jumbo, Sokari Goodboy, and Orubienomigha Timothy.
In her ruling on the application, presiding Judge, Justice Florence Fiberesima adjourned the Fubara’s impeachment suit sine die following the proof of two separate appeals which have been entered, a decision which she said would enable the appeal court determine the suit before it.
A Rivers State High Court of Oyibo local government Area sitting in Port Harcourt had on January 16 issued an interim order of injunction against the Speaker of Rivers State House of Assembly, Martin Amaewhule, and thirty-two others, including the clerk of the house and Chief Judge of Rivers.
The order restrained the Speaker and twenty-seven other members of the House of Assembly from forwarding articles of impeachment or other documents or communications to the Chief Judge with the sole aim of setting up a panel to investigate alleged gross misconduct.
The order also restrained the Chief Judge of the state, Justice Simeon Amadi, from receiving, considering, and or acting on any request, resolution, articles of impeachment, or other document or communication from the first to the twenty-seventh defendants for the purposes of constituting a panel to investigate the purported allegations of misconduct against the governor and his deputy for seven days.
