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A Rivers State High Court in Port Harcourt has stopped the police from arresting or detaining the Vice-Chancellor of PAMO University of Medical Sciences, Professor Smith Jaja, in connection with an investigation by the state House of Assembly into scholarship funds.
Justice F. Onyiri issued the interim order on Wednesday in Suit No. PHC/3692/FHR/2026, following a fundamental rights suit instituted by Jaja against the Rivers State House of Assembly, its Speaker, the Inspector-General of Police and the Commissioner of Police in the state.
The court also barred the security agencies from using force to compel the university’s Vice-Chancellor to appear before the Assembly’s ad hoc committee or any other committee constituted by the legislature.
The legal dispute stems from an investigation by the Rivers Assembly into the disbursement and utilisation of funds allocated by the state government for a scholarship programme involving students of PAMO University.
The Assembly had earlier resolved to issue a warrant for Jaja’s arrest following allegations that he failed to appear before its investigative committee despite several invitations.
In granting the interim relief, Justice Onyiri directed that the police and other security agencies should not execute the Assembly’s arrest resolution pending the determination of Jaja’s substantive application.
The court further authorised Jaja to serve court processes on the Assembly and its Speaker through substituted means. The documents may be delivered at the main entrance of the Assembly complex on Aba Road, Port Harcourt, or published in a newspaper.
Similar permission was granted for the Inspector-General of Police and the Rivers State Commissioner of Police to be served through the headquarters of the Rivers State Police Command on Moscow Road, Port Harcourt.
The substantive matter has been adjourned until October 9, 2026, when the court is expected to hear Jaja’s application seeking the enforcement of his fundamental rights.
The Assembly’s investigation followed concerns over the management of scholarship funds reportedly released to PAMO University by the Rivers State Government.
A report presented to the House by the Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee, Maol, alleged that the university received more than ₦29bn from the state government without corresponding evidence of student enrolment under the scholarship scheme.
The legislature subsequently called for steps to recover funds it alleged were not properly accounted for and directed that any recovered money be returned to the Rivers State Consolidated Revenue Account.
The Assembly’s position was contained in a statement issued by the Speaker’s Special Assistant on Media, Martins Wachukwu. The statement said the committee relied on financial and administrative documents obtained from the Ministries of Finance and Education and the Office of the Accountant-General.
Speaker Martin Amaewhule said the scholarship programme was originally introduced with the intention of supporting Rivers indigenes but alleged that its implementation raised questions over the management of the funds.
According to Amaewhule, documents examined by the committee contained discrepancies in the figures relating to the programme. He claimed that only about ₦5bn had been accounted for out of the over ₦29bn reportedly released to the university.
The controversy also affected the 2026 state budget, with the House earlier rejecting a proposed ₦6bn allocation for scholarships for Rivers indigenes enrolled at PAMO University.
With the court’s interim order preventing enforcement of the arrest resolution, the next major development in the dispute is expected at the October 9 hearing, when the court will consider the Vice-Chancellor’s substantive fundamental rights application.
