BY COBHAM NSA – The Investments and Securities Tribunal (IST) is ready to give investor protection a massive digital boost in the country with its planned roll out of new, tech-driven operational rules.
The Tribunal Chairman, Hon. Aminu Junaidu, who unveiled the plans to fully digitalize its legal processes, said transitioning to a digital system is critical in boosting efficiency and fortifying protection for the Nigerian Capital Market.
Speaking when a delegation from the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), led by its President, Dr. Fiona Ahmed Ahimie, visited him in Abuja at the weekend, the IST boss said the digital overhaul will be finalized at the Tribunal’s decisive board meeting scheduled for Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital.
He said the move to digitalise the Tribunal’s processes will not only improve efficiency, but also make access to justice easier and further protect the Capital Market’s integrity.
Hon Junaidu assured investors and other market stakeholders that the Tribunal remains committed to ensuring that cases are handled without unnecessary delays, adding that the Tribunal is even prepared to sit on weekends and public holidays where necessary to protect investors and ensure timely resolution of cases.
Acknowledging the Tribunal’s readiness to embrace robust capacity-building alliance with the CIS, he said skill development is tied directly to IST’s Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and assured that such strong partnership will sharpen the expertise of capital market professionals and accelerate growth across the sector.
In her remarks, CIS President Dr. Fiona Ahmed Ahimie,who sought a deeper alliance between both institutions, branded them as vital pillars of the Nigerian Capital Market, emphasizing the need to unite around a singular mission of engineering a transparent, and investor-friendly market capable of driving massive capital inflows.
While celebrating the market’s current growth and rebounding investor confidence, she however warned against fraudulent actors threatening to derail this economic progress and canvassed an immediate, ironclad collaboration between the SEC, CIS, and IST to systematically neutralise obvious threats by hunting down, exposing, and penalizing bad actors.
Dr Ahimie said there are currently about 2.2 million registered investors in the Nigerian Capital Market, with efforts to attract an additional 10 million investors, noting that the growth in the number of investors makes it important to maintain a sound and credible Market where investors can have confidence.
Also confirming the Institute’s interest to work with the IST on investor education to help investors understand the Market and avoid falling victim to fraudulent operators, she said the CIS is ready to collaborate on training and capacity building, including opportunities to extend its training programmes to other growing African Capital Markets.
In his intervention to address one of the major challenges facing the Tribunal, a member of the IST Board, Hon. Felix Onwuneme, noted that the Administrative Proceedings Committee (APC) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is required to consider certain matters before they can get to the Tribunal.
Expressing concern that the Committee’s inactivity has seen complaints piling up at SEC, Hon Onwuneme said reports indicate the APC has not sat in the last four or five years, leaving some market participants uncertain about what to do when faced with regulatory challenges.
Despite noting the Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 2025 provision that says where SEC does not take action on a matter within 60 days, such can proceed to the Tribunal, Onwuneme said there is still an urgent need for the APC to function effectively and deliver on its mandate.
He said as the apex regulator, SEC has the investigative machinery to properly examine complaints before they proceed to the Tribunal, insisting that the issue is affecting the number of cases coming to the Tribunal and could also have an impact on investor confidence.
Also speaking during the visit, Tunde Omolegbe, the 11th President of CIS and part-time member of IST, urged the Tribunal to actively participate in future stockbroker gatherings, noting that closer interaction would clarify institutional roles, strengthen relations, and create a unified front to tackle Capital Market challenges.
Highlight of the visit was exchange of souvenirs as both leadership teams reaffirmed their commitment to protecting and developing the Nigerian Capital Market for effective service delivery
