By Abiodun Folarin
WorldStage— The Investments and Securities Tribunal (IST), is set to introduce new Rules of Engagement and begin the digitalisation of its processes as part of measures to accelerate the resolution of capital market disputes and improve investors’ access to justice.
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.
Junaidu said the new Rules of Engagement would be adopted after the Tribunal’s next board meeting scheduled to hold in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, while the digitalisation programme would make its operations more efficient and accessible to market participants.
He said the digital transformation was also aimed at strengthening the integrity of the Nigerian capital market by ensuring that disputes are handled more efficiently and investors have easier access to the justice system.
The Chairman assured investors and other stakeholders that the Tribunal would not allow unnecessary delays in the determination of cases, stressing that it was prepared to sit on weekends and public holidays where necessary to protect investors and ensure timely resolution of disputes.
Junaidu also proposed stronger collaboration with the CIS, particularly in capacity development, which he identified as one of the Tribunal’s key performance indicators.
According to him, partnerships with professional bodies would help strengthen the knowledge and skills of practitioners in the capital market and contribute to the development of the sector.
The development comes amid concerns over institutional bottlenecks in the processing of capital market complaints before they reach the Tribunal.
A member of the Tribunal, Felix Onwuneme, said the Administrative Proceedings Committee (APC) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) is required to consider certain matters before they can proceed to the IST.
Onwuneme expressed concern that the apparent inactivity of the APC had contributed to a backlog of complaints at the SEC, leaving some market participants uncertain about the appropriate channel for resolving regulatory disputes.
He said there were indications that the committee had not met in the past four or five years, a situation he said could affect the flow of cases to the Tribunal and, ultimately, investor confidence.
He, however, noted that the Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 2025 provides that where the SEC fails to take action on a matter within 60 days, the matter may proceed to the Tribunal.
Despite the provision, Onwuneme said an effective APC remained important because the SEC, as the apex regulator, possesses the investigative machinery required to properly examine complaints before they are brought before the Tribunal.
He said resolving the bottleneck would help improve the effectiveness of the capital market dispute-resolution framework.
Earlier, the CIS President, Ahimie, said the Institute’s visit was aimed at strengthening the relationship between the two institutions, which she described as important components of the Nigerian capital market ecosystem.
She said the shared objective should be to build a transparent and investor-friendly capital market capable of attracting more domestic and international investors.
Ahimie said confidence was returning to the Nigerian capital market as the market expands, but warned that activities of fraudulent operators and other bad actors could undermine the progress being recorded.
She called for stronger collaboration among the SEC, CIS and IST to identify, expose and bring such operators to justice.
According to her, the Nigerian capital market currently has about 2.2 million registered investors, with efforts underway to attract an additional 10 million investors.
She said the projected expansion of the investor base makes it critical to maintain a credible market in which investors can have confidence.
The CIS President also proposed closer collaboration between the Institute and the Tribunal on investor education, saying better understanding of market operations could help investors avoid fraudulent operators.
She added that the CIS was prepared to support the Tribunal through training and capacity-building programmes, including opportunities to extend some of its professional development initiatives to emerging African capital markets.
Also speaking, the 11th President of the CIS and part-time member of the IST, Tunde Omolegbe, urged the Tribunal to participate more actively in future conferences and engagements organised by stockbrokers.
He said such engagements would provide an avenue for both institutions to better understand their respective roles, share information on emerging challenges and identify areas for collaboration.
The visit ended with an exchange of gifts between the leadership of the CIS and IST, with both institutions reaffirming their commitment to closer cooperation towards strengthening the Nigerian capital market and protecting investors.
