A STATE High Court sitting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, has restrained the Inspector-General of Police (IGP) and Director-General, State Security Service (SSS) from inviting or arresting the Chief of Staff to suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara of Rivers State, Edison Ehie.
The Rivers State Commissioner of Police, Nigeria Police Force (NPF), Police Service Commission (PSC), and State Director of SSS are also defendants in the case.
The trial judge, I. Igwe, on Thursday, April 3, ruled in favour of the claimant after the defendants failed to appear, granting several orders.
The court grants the claimant permission to serve legal documents on the defendants, who are outside the court’s jurisdiction, specifically in Abuja.
He ruled that the documents can be served directly to their addresses in Abuja or by sending them via courier service to their Abuja addresses, with proof of delivery filed in court.
The court also issued a temporary order stopping the defendants from inviting, harassing, arresting, or detaining the claimant about an alleged arson incident at the Rivers State House of Assembly and statements made by a former Head of Service (HoS) in Rivers State, George Nwaeke.
The judge added that both parties must maintain the current situation until the court hears the motion. The court ruled that Ehie must also provide a ₦2 million guarantee.
The case was adjourned until April 30, 2025, for the motion on notice for interlocutory injunction.
Recall that the former HoS, Nwaeke, granted an interview where he made some serious allegations against suspended Rivers Governor Fubara.
He claimed the governor was planning to back Bauchi State Governor Bala Mohammed in the 2027 presidential election and even accused him of meeting with militants to orchestrate attacks on oil facilities and other assets.
A short time after, Florence, the wife of the former HoS Nwaeke, raised an alarm over the whereabouts of her husband.
Florence, who spoke in an interview on Channels TV late Friday evening, March 28 told journalists she was afraid for her husband’s safety and had no idea where he was. She further called on Nigerians for help in locating her husband.
However, Nwaeke in a separate interview contradicted the wife’s claim that he was kidnapped.
Nwaeke, in a video released in the early hours of Saturday, said he’s safe in Abuja, where he voluntarily went to report himself to security agencies over recent developments in Rivers State.
Meanwhile, Fubara, in response to Nwaeke’s claims suggested that the former HoS may have been paid or coerced to have made the “false” claims against him.
Fubara shared screenshots of chats between Nwaeke and his HoS, Ehie.
The chats revealed that Nwaeke asked Ehie for money and support, promising loyalty in return. He claimed his N500,000 salary was insufficient for his needs.
The ICIR reported that Nwaeke’s resignation as HoS was announced in a statement Tuesday morning by the Chief of Staff to the Sole Administrator, Ibok-Ete Ibas.
President Bola Tinubu also declared a state of emergency in Rivers State on Tuesday, March 18,The ICIR also reported.
The declaration followed political turbulence in the state.
A reporter with the ICIR
A Journalist with a niche for quality and a promoter of good governance