Court Nullifies Rivers Assembly’s Arrest Order Against PAMO University VC

A Rivers State High Court has nullified an arrest order issued by the Rivers State House of Assembly against the Vice-Chancellor of PAMO University of Medical Sciences, Professor Smith Jaja.

The Assembly had ordered the professor’s arrest after he failed to appear before its ad hoc committee. In a judgment delivered by Justice Frank Onyiri, the court declared the order null and void and issued a perpetual injunction restraining the Rivers State House of Assembly, the police, and other security agencies from interfering with the Vice-Chancellor’s rights.

Justice Onyiri described the Assembly’s decision to set up a committee to investigate Professor Jaja after the passage and signing of the 2026 Appropriation Act as a sham. The judge held that the legislature has no authority to indict or determine the guilt of any individual.