The High Court of Justice in Rivers State, under Justice Jumbo Stephen, has issued an interim injunction prohibiting the state’s Chief Judge, Justice Someone Amadi, from implementing any resolutions made by 27 lawmakers who recently defected from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC). This legal action follows a contentious dispute over the lawmakers’ defection.
The court order, dated July 8, 2024, directs that the clerk of the Rivers State House of Assembly refrain from acting on resolutions, articles of impeachment, or any communications from these lawmakers pending further legal proceedings. It also mandates the maintenance of the status quo ante as of July 5, 2024, until the hearing and determination of the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction scheduled for July 15, 2024.
Furthermore, the court has ordered substituted service of legal documents on the lawmakers by pasting them at the gate of the Rivers State House of Assembly Quarters in Port Harcourt.
The presiding judge adjourned the case to July 15, 2024, for further proceedings regarding the interlocutory injunction. The lawmakers affected by this order include Hon. Dumle Maol, Hon. Major Jack, Hon. Franklin Uchenna Nwabochi, and others who switched allegiance to the APC.