In Rivers State, recent legal and political developments have captured public attention, involving both the judiciary and the state legislature. A Federal High Court in Port Harcourt has dismissed a suit filed by the Labour Party concerning the defection of the suspended Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, Martins Amaewhule, along with 26 other lawmakers. Simultaneously, the Rivers State Judiciary is addressing the circumstances surrounding the retirement of Chief Magistrate Ejike King-George.

Justice Emmanuel Obile, presiding over the Federal High Court, cited a Supreme Court judgment as the basis for dismissing the Labour Party's suit. The Labour Party had challenged the legitimacy of the 27 lawmakers' defection from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the All Progressives Congress (APC), arguing that it violated constitutional provisions. Specifically, they referenced Section 272(3) of the 1999 Constitution (as amended) in Suit No: FHC/PH/25/2024, seeking to have the lawmakers’ seats declared vacant.

However, Justice Obile’s ruling hinged on Section 287(1) of the Constitution, which mandates adherence to Supreme Court decisions. He referenced a Supreme Court ruling from February 28, 2025, which, according to Justice Obile, had already resolved the issue by confirming that the 27 lawmakers did not defect. "The Supreme Court’s judgment is binding on this court," Justice Obile stated, asserting that the court lacked jurisdiction to reopen the matter.

During the court hearing on March 17, 2025, K.C.O. Njemanze (SAN), representing the Rivers State House of Assembly, along with F. Orbih (SAN), J.Y. Musa (SAN), and other counsel, argued for the dismissal of the case, citing the Supreme Court’s decision as definitive. In contrast, Clifford N. Chuku, Esq, representing the Labour Party, contended that the Supreme Court’s ruling addressed the doctrine of necessity rather than the issue of defection itself, urging the court to hear the substantive suit to ensure a fair hearing. Despite this, the court upheld its decision based on the binding nature of the Supreme Court's judgment.

The backdrop to this legal challenge involves the 27 lawmakers publicly declaring their defection from the PDP to the APC in 2024, an event marked by waving APC flags and a reception organized by Chief Tony Okocha, the then caretaker committee chairman of the party.

In a separate but equally significant development, the Rivers State Judiciary has refuted the reasons provided by retired Chief Magistrate Ejike King-George for his retirement. George, in his resignation letter dated April 11, 2025, cited the appointment of a Sole Administrator to oversee the state's political affairs as his reason, describing it as a 'quasi-military administration' and expressing dismay over the direction of governance, which he found to be alien and antithetical to the values of the legal profession.

However, the Chief Registrar of Rivers State High Court, David Ihua-Maduenyi, stated that George was compulsorily retired from service effective February 10, 2025, due to disciplinary reasons, specifically, continuous absence from duty without leave from August 2023 to December 2024. Ihua-Maduenyi clarified that George appeared before a disciplinary panel of the Judicial Service Commission, which found him wanting and recommended either voluntary or compulsory retirement. George’s failure to retire voluntarily within the given timeframe led to his compulsory retirement.

Ihua-Maduenyi dismissed George’s attempt to link his exit from service to the political situation as a contrived falsehood and a mischievous action intended to deceive the public and attract undue sympathy. The judiciary maintains that the retirement was solely based on disciplinary issues.