A Rivers State High Court sitting in Port Harcourt has issued an order restraining the Sole Administrator of Rivers State, retired Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas, from inaugurating the newly confirmed Chairman and members of the Rivers State Services Commission.

The court’s decision was made on the grounds that the matter is currently pending before the court and is yet to be determined.

The suit was instituted by Reverend Goodlife Iduoku Ben, Amadi Christian Echele, Chimenem Wisdom Jerome, and three others, who are the Chairman and members of the Rivers State Services Commission appointed by suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara.

The claimants are challenging their suspension by the Sole Administrator, arguing that it was done without due process and that they were legally appointed and confirmed by the Rivers State House of Assembly.

Justice Frank Onyiri, presiding over the court, issued the caution after parties addressed and adopted their final written addresses on the suit.

The judge had previously ordered parties to maintain the existing status quo in April 2025 and adjourned the case till September 29, 2025, for judgment.

The claimants insist that the Sole Administrator lacks the legal powers to suspend them and appoint a new Chairman and members of the commission.

According to their affidavit signed by the suspended Chairman, Goodlife Iduoku Ben, the claimants were legally appointed and confirmed by the Rivers State House of Assembly, and records of their confirmation were with the Clerk of the House before they were issued letters of appointment by the Governor.

The defendants in the suit include the Sole Administrator of the state, Ibok-Ete Ibas, the Accountant General, Access Bank, Zenith Bank, and eleven others.

The defendants will have to wait until the judgment is delivered on September 29, 2025, to know the fate of the commission’s leadership.