Lawyers Defend Court’s Halt of Rivers Impeachment Process

Legislative law experts have defended judicial intervention in the ongoing impeachment process against Rivers State Governor, Siminalayi Fubara, insisting that the Rivers State House of Assembly acted outside constitutional boundaries.

The Association of Legislative Drafting and Advocacy Practitioners (ALDRAP), representing over 1,500 legislative lawyers, praised Hon. Justice Florence Fiberisima for restraining further action in the impeachment process, describing the decision as consistent with constitutional principles.

According to the group, the House of Assembly lost the protection of Section 188(10) of the 1999 Constitution, the ouster clause after allegedly failing to follow due process. They cited the reported failure to personally serve the governor with the notice of impeachment or obtain a court order for substituted service as a fatal procedural flaw.

ALDRAP also questioned allegations of gross misconduct linked to the governor’s failure to submit budget-related documents, noting that Rivers State was under a state of emergency between March and September 2025, a circumstance they described as force majeure.

The lawyers stressed that when a legislature is accused of constitutional violations, the judiciary is empowered to intervene under the principle of checks and balances. They dismissed claims that courts lack authority to review impeachment proceedings, pointing instead to the Supreme Court’s decision in Inakoju v. Adeleke (2007), which affirmed judicial oversight despite ouster clauses.

In addition, the group warned that allowing impeachment proceedings to continue without resolving these constitutional defects could set a dangerous precedent nationwide, encouraging legislative excesses and weakening democratic accountability at the state level.

The group maintained that constitutional compliance, not political interest, must guide impeachment proceedings.