Nigerian court cancels arrest order against Rivers vice-chancellor
By the AFREEQUE newsroom, based on ThisDay
Rivers High Court cancels the arrest warrant against PAMO University vice-chancellor Smith Jaja and bars any infringement of his rights. It also awards 2 million naira in damages, ruling that the Rivers Assembly exceeded its constitutional powers, according to Justice Frank Onyiri’s judgment.
The Rivers State High Court has annulled the arrest order against Smith Jaja, vice-chancellor of PAMO University of Medical Sciences, and ordered the state House of Assembly to pay him 2 million naira in damages, according to Nigerian daily ThisDay.
Presided over by Justice Frank Onyiri, the hearing also barred the Assembly, police and other security agencies from taking measures that would violate the academic’s fundamental rights in the case. The court described the Assembly’s investigation as a sham and ruled that the decision to arrest Smith Jaja for failing to appear before its ad hoc committee on 25 September 2026 was invalid.
The judge found that the Assembly had exceeded its constitutional powers by investigating Smith Jaja’s employer. He recalled that Section 128 of Nigeria’s 1999 Constitution limits Parliament’s investigative powers to gathering evidence needed for recognised legislative purposes and does not allow it to indict people or determine their guilt, according to ThisDay.
