PORT HARCOURT — The General Secretary of the Ijaw Youth Council (IYC), Maobuye Obu, has challenged the perceived impartiality of the Rivers State judiciary, noting that the Chief Judge’s political ties to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike remain a critical factor in the ongoing attempt to oust Governor Siminalayi Fubara. Speaking during a high-profile interview on Channels Television on Wednesday, January 21, 2026, Obu highlighted that the incumbent Chief Judge, Hon. Justice Simeon Chibuzor Amadi, was an appointee of the Wike administration rather than the current executive. He argued that this historical context is essential for the public to understand as the judiciary becomes the final arbiter in the state’s legislative war.
Obu stated that because the Chief Judge was appointed by the former governor and not the incumbent, the context of the appointment is crucial given that the Chief Judge holds the sole constitutional power under Section 188 to empanel the seven-member team required to investigate the Governor for impeachment. While the IYC leader clarified that he was not accusing the jurist of misconduct, he stressed that the judiciary must remain beyond suspicion in a politically charged environment.
The scrutiny of the Chief Judge’s office intensified following a dramatic series of judicial and legislative maneuvers this week. On January 20, 2026, Justice Amadi formally declined the Rivers State House of Assembly’s request to constitute an impeachment panel, citing two subsisting interim injunctions served on January 16 that legally restrain him from advancing the ouster of Governor Fubara and Deputy Governor Ngozi Odu. In an immediate counter-move on Thursday, January 22, the Wike-aligned Assembly, led by Speaker Martins Amaewhule, resolved to petition the Department of State Services (DSS) to investigate Justice Amadi for alleged age falsification, a move characterized by Fubara’s allies as an attempt to blackmail the judiciary.
In response to the escalating crisis, the Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, has reportedly summoned judges involved in the conflicting Rivers rulings to appear before the National Judicial Council to prevent a total collapse of the rule of law in the state. The Ijaw Youth Council has called for total institutional independence, warning that any perception of the judiciary acting as a proxy for the FCT Minister would further inflame ethnic and political tensions across the Niger Delta. As of January 23, 2026, the impeachment process remains stalled, with the Chief Judge insisting on adherence to subsisting court orders despite mounting pressure from the legislative faction.
