Impeachment Bid Stoppage:Amaechi Loses In Court

A Port Harcourt High Court yesterday struck out the suit instituted by the Rivers State Governor, Hon. Chibuike Amaechi, seeking to restrain the state House of Assembly from making any move to impeach him.

Amaechi had gone to court in the wake of the political crisis that rocked the state last year to seek an order of perpetual injunction to stop an alleged move by some members of the assembly from removing him from office unlawfully.

Justice Omereji had last October struck out the originating summons brought by counsel to Amaechi, Mr. Beluolisa Nwofor (SAN), on the grounds that it was hostile and ordered that the matter be brought under a statement of claim.

In their counter-affidavit to the statement of claim, counsel to the five anti-Amaechi lawmakers, Mr. Dike Udenna, argued that the matter was not justiceable and that the court cannot reverse itself on a matter it had ruled on before. Udenna further argued that the order of court was yet to be vacated by an appellate court.

According to Udenna, the claimants failed in their statement of claim to prove that the state Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Chairman and Secretary, Felix Obuah and Ibibia Walter Opuene respectively, were working with the lawmakers to impeach the governor, describing the application as speculative, hypothetical and an academic exercise and therefore should be struck out.
In a ruling that lasted almost two hours, Justice Omereji agreed with the submissions of Udenna and held that the matter was not justiceable as Amaechi failed to disclose the facts when he claimed that the state chairman and secretary of the PDP were planning with the lawmakers of the assembly to impeach him (governor).

The trial judge further held that the allegations against Obuah and Opuene were heinous, and that making any pronouncement that would affect them without hearing from them was against the principle of fair-hearing as the claimants failed to list them as witnesses in the suit.

While also striking out paragraph 13 of affidavit in support of the statement of claim, the judge held that the said paragraph cannot confer on the claimant any reasonable course of action as the claimant counsel was not in place to know what the second set of defendants and the PDP officials were thinking to do without a manifestation of those intentions. He further held that the suit was speculative and hypothetical and as such, unfit for judicial consideration.

The judge however refused to award any cost on the judgment.
Joined in the suit as first set of defendants are the state House of Assembly and Speaker, Otelemaba Dan-Amachree, while the second set of defendants are Evans Bipi, Kelechi Worgu, Michael Okechukwu Chinda, Martin Amaewhule and Victor Ihunwo.

Reacting to the judgment, Udenna described the ruling as detailed and thorough, adding that: “With the ruling, the lawmakers can go ahead and impeach the governor.

But on his part, counsel to Amaechi, Nwofor, said he would confer with the governor on whether to go on appeal, pointing out that the judge failed to consider the issues raised in the application.