By Oluwakemi Kindness
The Investments and Securities Tribunal (IST) is set to adopt new Rules of Engagement and begin digitalising its processes to make capital-market justice faster and easier to access.
Chairman of the Tribunal, Hon. Aminu Junaidu, disclosed this when the President of the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), Dr. Fiona Ahmed Ahimie, led members of the Institute on a courtesy visit to the Tribunal in Abuja at the weekend.
A statement on Monday by the tribunal says Junaidu said the digitalisation would improve efficiency, ease access to justice and strengthen the integrity of the Nigerian Capital Market.
He also assured investors and other market stakeholders that the Tribunal would work to prevent unnecessary delays in resolving cases.
The Chairman said the Tribunal could sit on weekends and public holidays where necessary to protect investors and ensure timely resolution of cases.
Junaidu said the Tribunal would adopt the new Rules of Engagement after its next board meeting in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
He also called for stronger collaboration with the CIS, particularly on capacity building, which he said forms part of the Tribunal’s Key Performance Indicators.
But a member of the Tribunal, Hon. Felix Onwuneme, identified a regulatory bottleneck that he said was affecting the handling of capital-market complaints.
Onwuneme said the Administrative Proceedings Committee (APC) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) must consider certain matters before they can proceed to the Tribunal.
He said there were indications that the APC had not sat in the last four or five years, causing complaints to pile up at the SEC.
According to him, the situation has left some market participants uncertain about how to proceed when they face regulatory challenges.
Onwuneme, however, noted that the Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 2025 allows a matter to proceed to the Tribunal if the SEC does not act within 60 days.
He said the APC still needs to function effectively because the SEC, as the apex regulator, has the investigative machinery to examine complaints before they reach the Tribunal.
Onwuneme said the situation could affect the number of cases reaching the Tribunal and potentially affect investor confidence.
Meanwhile, the CIS President called for stronger collaboration among the SEC, CIS and IST to identify and bring fraudulent operators to justice.
Ahimie said the Nigerian Capital Market currently has about 2.2 million registered investors, with efforts to attract an additional 10 million.
She said the growth in investor numbers makes it important to maintain a sound and credible market where investors can have confidence.
Ahimie also said the CIS was ready to work with the Tribunal on investor education, training and capacity building to help investors understand the market and avoid fraudulent operators.
The 11th President of the CIS and part-time member of the IST, Tunde Omolegbe, urged the Tribunal to participate in future gatherings of stockbrokers.
He said such engagements would help both institutions understand their respective roles, discuss challenges in the capital market and identify areas for collaboration.
