By SCM Correspondent
PORT HARCOURT – The political showdown rocking Rivers State has taken a dramatic turn as a High Court in Port Harcourt hit the “pause” button on attempts to oust Governor Siminalayi Fubara.
Justice Florence Fiberesima has adjourned the high-stakes impeachment case indefinitely, effectively freezing the legal battle between the Governor and his rivals in the House of Assembly.
The ruling comes after Governor Fubara and his Deputy, Professor Ngozi Nma-Odu, filed a suit to block the Speaker, Martin Amaewhule, and 26 other lawmakers from proceeding with a plot to remove them from office.
Justice Fiberesima opted to adjourn the case sine die (without a future date) after it was revealed that two separate appeals have already been entered. The judge ruled that her hands are tied until the higher Court of Appeal delivers its own verdict on the matter.
This isn’t the first time the court has stepped in to protect the Governor.
The Oyigbo High Court previously slapped an interim injunction on the Speaker and 32 others, including the state’s Chief Judge.
Under the current legal restrictions:
The Speaker is banned from forwarding any “articles of impeachment” to the Chief Judge.
The Chief Judge is restrained from setting up any panel to investigate the Governor for alleged “gross misconduct.”
The indefinite adjournment leaves the embattled Governor in power for the foreseeable future, as the political war moves from the floor of the House to the chambers of the Appeal Court.
