Business News
Supreme Court Affirms IST’s Jurisdiction on Capital Market Disputes
By Tony Obiechina Abuja
The Supreme Court has affirmed the Investments and Securities Tribunal’s (ISTs) jurisdiction over capital market disputes in the country.
Director General of the SEC Mr.
Lamido Yuguda, who disclosed this during an interview while reacting to the judgement, said the landmark decision confers exclusive jurisdiction on the IST to determine all issues listed in Section 284 of the Investment and Securities Act (ISA) 2007.He said, “On January 13, 2023, the Supreme Court of Nigeria delivered a landmark decision with enormous implication for capital market dispute resolution.
This was in the case of Mufutau Ajayi vs SEC with Supreme Court number SC/314/2007. Many capital market practitioners have eagerly awaited the outcome of this case which remained pending at the Apex Court for 15 years before it was finally decided”.The SEC DG stated that the Supreme Court while delivering its judgment in the appeal on January 13, 2023 after going through the facts and history of the matter and reviewing the submissions of the learned counsel representing both parties, found as a fact that the SEC took adequate and sufficient steps to notify the Appellant of the sittings and proceedings of the APC.
He said, “More so, SEC did not act as a judge in its own cause since it acted on a complaint by Sadiq Petroleum Limited (SPNC), a core investor that subscribed 30% of the shares of African Petroleum Plc. Accordingly, the Appellant cannot continue to seek for the grant of the order of certiorari when it was clear that the conditions for the grant were unavailable to him.
“More important however, was the decision of the apex court on the issue of jurisdiction over capital market matters. The Supreme Court held that the main issue in the appeal was that the Federal High Court declined jurisdiction in the matter, which decision was affirmed by the Court of Appeal.
After reviewing the applicable laws on the actions of the SEC and its Administrative Proceedings Committee APC, the apex court stated, “Based on the foregoing, it implies that any grievance, whether on denial of fair hearing by the APC as in the present case, rule of law, equity, facts or law, etc., should be instituted in the Investment and Securities Tribunal (1ST). It is unequivocal that the proper forum with jurisdiction to hear and determine the case of the Appellant is the Tribunal and not the Federal High Court.”
“The above decision of the Supreme Court has finally settled this issue. The jurisdiction conferred on the Investments and Securities Tribunal to determine all the issues listed in Section 284 of the Investments and Securities Act, 2007 remains exclusive and cannot be shared with any other court of law. One of such issues relates to any decision or determination made by the Securities and Exchange Commission in the operation of the Act”, he added.
In 2000, the National Council on Privatization offered for sale on behalf of the Federal Government 86,400,000 ordinary shares of AP Plc. A year later, (i.e. in April 2001), a core investor of AP Plc alleged in a press conference that the past management of the company had failed to disclose debts of N22.5 billion owed by the company to various creditors. It also alleged that the auditors of AP Plc were negligent in the auditing of the company.
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) set up a Committee to investigate the allegation. The findings of the Committee affirmed that the sum of N10, 181,606 billion disclosed in the prospectus of AP Plc was less than what the company actually owed as at June 30 1999.
Mufutau Ajayi was not a director in African Petroleum Plc but was the company’s Finance and Accounts Manager. The Administrative Proceedings Committee of the SEC found that Mufutau Ajayi, being an officer of AP Plc authorized the issue of the prospectus dated 30th March 2000 which contained an untrue statement to wit: that the total indebtedness of the company as at 30th June 1999 was N10.2 billion whereas subsequent revelations indicated otherwise, thereby contravening the provisions of sections 62 (1), (2) (d) and 63 of the ISA 1999.
Although Mr. Ajayi did not show up at the investigative hearing of the Administrative Proceedings Committee despite being invited, the Committee made the following findings against Mr. M.C. Ajayi namely that: although Mr. Ajayi was not a Director of the company, he was a principal officer who played a major role in obtaining the Commercial Papers (CPs) and Bankers’ Acceptances (BAs) that led to the concealed debt; his conduct prior to the offer for sale by denying the auditors access to relevant financial records during the auditing exercise is very reprehensible and highly unprofessional; that his role bordered on economic and financial crime; and that there was enough evidence to refer his matter to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Consequent upon the findings, the Administrative Proceedings Committee directed as follows namely that: Mr. Ajayi be strongly reprimanded for his role in the debt concealment; He is therefore disqualified from being employed or participating, in any capacity, in the securities industry; Mr. M. C. Ajayi be referred to the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) for further criminal investigation and action; and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) and all professional bodies to which Mr. Ajayi belongs shall be informed of his actions and this Decision.
Upon being notified of the decision of the SEC via a letter dated April 19, 2004, Mr. Ajayi approached the Federal High Court for judicial review of the decision in Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/285/2004 – MUFUTAU AJAYI VS SEC & ANOR. The Securities and Exchange Commission through its counsel raised an objection to the jurisdiction of the Federal High Court to hear and determine the case.
The Court upheld the objection and held that the proper venue for the Plaintiff to take the matter to was the Investments and Securities Tribunal and not the Federal High Court.
The Plaintiff being dissatisfied with the decision of the Federal High Court, appealed to the Court of Appeal in Appeal No. CA/A/200/M/2005 – MUFUTAU AJAYI VS SEC. The Court of Appeal affirmed the ruling of the Federal High Court in its judgment delivered on May 8, 2007.
The Plaintiff (now Appellant) took the matter further to the Supreme Court by a Notice of Appeal he filed on August 2, 2007.
A graduate of the University of Maiduguri, Shianya Ebwaseh, said the Nigerian Education Loan Fund (NELFUND) helped improve her Grade Point Average (GPA) to 3.50 through financial support that enabled her to concentrate on her studies.
Ebwaseh, who graduated from the Department of Zoology, Faculty of Life Sciences, said this in an interview on Monday in Maiduguri.
She said financial difficulties had previously affected her academic performance, as she struggled to meet her daily needs while pursuing her degree.
The graduate said she resorted to selling fried chips and groundnuts on campus to support herself, sometimes missing lectures because of the time and energy required to run the business.
According to her, the introduction of NELFUND’s student loan scheme relieved her financial burden through tuition support and a monthly N20,000 upkeep allowance.
“Before NELFUND, I struggled with my GPA because of financial challenges. I sometimes missed lectures after spending hours frying and packaging chips for sale.
“But when NELFUND came, I stopped the business and concentrated on my studies. My GPA improved to 3.50, which is Second Class Upper,” she said.
Ebwaseh said the financial support also enabled her to attend lectures regularly, purchase learning materials and prepare adequately for tests and examinations without constant worries about money.
She added that her examination scores improved significantly after she began receiving the support, attributing the change to increased concentration and financial stability.
The graduate, who said she accessed the scheme in her third year, described the application process as simple and encouraged other eligible students to apply.
She also said the programme had helped financially disadvantaged students remain in school, particularly those whose parents could not afford tuition fees and upkeep.
Ebwaseh appealed to the Federal Government to sustain the initiative, emphasising that withdrawing the support could expose many students to financial difficulties and possible dropout.
She said the scheme had given beneficiaries an opportunity to pursue their academic ambitions with fewer financial distractions.(NAN)
The Minister of Housing and Urban Development, Dr Muttaqha Darma, has called for synergy among government agencies in the housing sector to improve coordination and accelerate housing delivery.
Darma made the call in Abuja on Monday at the stakeholders’ conference on the proposed National Real Estate Regulatory Authority (NRERA).
The conference, themed “One vision, One Ecosystem, One National Housing and Real Estate Plan”, was organised by the Office of the Speaker, House of Representatives, and the House Committee on Housing and Habitat.
The minister said the lack of coordination among government agencies had affected the effective delivery of houses to Nigerians, noting that institutions in the sector operated independently.
“The players within the industry, all of us, operate in silos.
“Federal Housing Authority (FHA) does not even know what the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) is doing. FMBN does not know what the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI) is doing,” he said.
According to him, the various institutions must work together towards a common goal rather than operate independently.
“Our target is to build houses for Nigerians. We are wasting our time because if we fail, it is us who fail, not the President,” he said.
The minister expressed support for the establishment of NRERA, saying the proposed authority would address the regulatory gaps in the real estate sector.
He said the ministry had reviewed the proposed legislation and recognised its potential to improve the sector.
Darma also disclosed that abandoned housing projects funded by the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) across the country were worth about N38 billion.
He said a survey conducted by the ministry revealed abandoned FMBN-funded housing developments in every state of the federation, including the Federal Capital Territory.
“We realised about N38 billion of contributors’ money, your own money, all the Nigerian workers’ money. N38 billion is wasted,” he said.
He said that the poor management of workers’ contributions could discourage Nigerians from contributing to the National Housing Fund.
The minister urged the committee handling the proposed legislation to ensure that state governments were included in the regulatory framework.
He also called for safeguards to protect homebuyers, tenants, developers and mortgage lenders, including mandatory escrow accounts for buyers and standardised tenancy agreements.
The Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of the Ministry of Finance Incorporated (MOFI), Dr Armstrong Takang, said effective regulation was necessary to restore investor confidence in Nigeria’s real estate sector.
Takang said the sector contributed 12.71 per cent to Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as of June 2026, but remained largely unregulated.
He said the absence of a national licensing system had allowed unqualified individuals to operate as estate agents and developers without adequate accountability.
“Anyone can sell land, anyone can collect off-plan payments, run into tens of billions and get away with it. There are very few countries in the world where these are allowed,” he said.
He called for mandatory licensing of real estate operators and the protection of buyers’ funds through designated project accounts.
“An operator must be licensed with the authorities. No one should be operating in the real estate sector without a licence, no matter which part of the value chain they are involved in,” he said.
He added that buyers’ funds should be kept in protected project accounts and released to developers based on evidence of progress on construction.
Takang said effective regulation would attract domestic and foreign investment, protect citizens and support the Federal Government’s one-trillion-dollar economy target.
He urged the National Assembly to ensure the passage of the proposed legislation, describing it as critical to bringing order and transparency to the real estate sector.
From Tony Nwachukwu, Lagos
Fintech company OPay has announced the postponement of its planned public offering on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE), following careful consideration of an ongoing inquiry by a regulatory authority.
The company said the decision to postpone the offering was taken in the best interests of the business and its customers.
In a statement shared with DAILY ASSET, OPay explained that the ongoing inquiry does not affect the services it provides to customers or how it operates in Nigeria and its other business markets.
The company also reassured customers, merchants, agents and other business partners that its operations would continue as usual, with all services remaining fully available.
“Customers can continue sending and receiving money, making payments and saving without interruption,” the statement noted.
OPay expressed appreciation to its customers, merchants, agents, business partners, employees and other stakeholders for their continued trust and support.
The company also reiterated its commitment to making financial services more inclusive through technology
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