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The State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has issued an interlocutory injunction restraining lawmakers led by Speaker Martins Amaewhule from sitting and parading themselves as members of the state House of Assembly.
Justice C.N. Wali granted the order in a suit filed by the pro-Governor Siminilayi Fubara lawmakers, led by Speaker Victor Oko-Jumbo and two others, Sokari Goodboy and Orubienimigha Timothy. The suit listed 25 lawmakers as defendants, along with Governor Siminilayi Fubara, the Attorney-General, and the Chief Judge of the state as 26th to 28th defendants.
The court had previously granted a similar order on May 10th, stopping the governor, attorney-general, and Chief Judge from interacting with the affected lawmakers. The latest injunction, granted on May 29th, restrains the lawmakers from sitting and parading themselves as members of the House of Assembly, pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.
The court order specifically states: “An order of interlocutory injunction is granted restraining the 1st to 25th defendants from parading and holding out themselves as members of the Rivers State House of Assembly… their legislative seats having been declared vacant pending the hearing and determination of the substantive suit.”
The court also restrained the governor, attorney-general, and Chief Judge from dealing with, interfacing, or accepting any resolutions or bills from the affected lawmakers, pending the determination of the suit. The matter has been adjourned to July 1st, 2024, for mention.
This development is the latest twist in the ongoing crisis rocking the Rivers State House of Assembly, and it remains to be seen how the situation will unfold in the coming days.