Fubara’s Chief of Staff, Edison Ehie, has filed a ₦2bn defamation suit against ex-HoS George Nwaeke and Channels TV over an explosive allegation linked to the 2023 Rivers Assembly fire. Find out why this case could shake up the state’s political landscape. Read full story.
In a fresh twist to the deepening political crisis rocking Rivers State, the Chief of Staff to the suspended Governor Siminalayi Fubara, Rt. Hon. Edison Ehie, has slammed a ₦2 billion defamation suit against the state’s former Head of Civil Service, Dr. George Nwaeke, over a widely televised allegation linking him to the October 2023 fire that razed parts of the Rivers State House of Assembly.
Ehie, a former Speaker of the Rivers State House of Assembly, also joined Channels Television as a co-defendant in the suit, accusing the media house of airing what he described as “false, malicious and injurious” claims during a March 29, 2025 broadcast.
The ex-HoS, in the now-controversial Channels TV interview, had alleged that Edison Ehie masterminded the arson under direct instruction from Governor Fubara. Nwaeke claimed to have been physically present at the Government House when “a bag of money” was handed over to Ehie for the operation — though he admitted not knowing the exact contents of the bag.
The lawsuit, now before Justice Jumbo Stephens of the Rivers State High Court, seeks the following reliefs:
An order for immediate retraction and public apology from both defendants, to be broadcast on Channels TV, another national television platform, and published in at least two newspapers with national reach;
A perpetual injunction restraining Nwaeke and Channels TV from further defamatory publications against Edison Ehie;
General damages of ₦2 billion for defamation, libel, and reputational harm.
In a ruling on Monday, Justice Stephens granted Ehie’s application for substituted service, ordering that the court documents be pasted at Nwaeke’s residence in Port Harcourt and published in a national daily, since personal service had proven difficult.
Recall that the fire incident at the Rivers Assembly occurred amid a failed impeachment plot by lawmakers loyal to FCT Minister Nyesom Wike. The political feud between Wike and Governor Fubara plunged the state into chaos, prompting President Bola Tinubu to declare a state of emergency in March 2025 and suspend both the governor and his deputy, Dr. Ngozi Odu, along with the entire legislature.
Tinubu subsequently appointed Vice Admiral Ibok-Ete Ibas (Rtd) as Sole Administrator of the state — a controversial decision still generating nationwide debate.
The defamation suit further intensifies the political drama, as Edison Ehie seeks to legally fight off what he views as a politically-motivated character assassination campaign linked to the ongoing power tussle.
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