The Place and Role of Investments and Securities Tribunal in the Nigerian Capital Market

Abubakar Aminu Ahmad

Private and Commercial Law - Faculty of Law - Bayero University Kano

Abstract

The Place and Role of Investments and Securities Tribunal in the Nigerian Capital Market Abstract This paper analyses the Investments and Securities Tribunal (the IST/Tribunal) as an adjudicatory body in the framework for the resolution of investment disputes in Nigeria. The analysis is in terms of the composition, jurisdiction, powers, status and decisions of the Tribunal as well as appeals against its decisions. Effective and efficient mechanism of resolution of investment disputes strengthens investors’ confidence and engenders rapid investment-inflow. The search for such mechanism in Nigeria culminated in the establishment of the IST. The Tribunal has been a major success story in the Nigerian capital market. It has, over the 17years of its existence, adjudicated and facilitated amicable resolution of about 300 (three hundred) disputes with a monetary value of about 1.5 Billion USD and received commendations within and outside Nigeria. The Nigerian Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC-Nigeria) as the regulator of the Nigerian capital market and other stakeholders in the market including the Nigeran Stock Exchange (NSE) as a self-regulatory organization and the lawyers that happened to appear before the Tribunal have variously expressed satisfaction and hope about the Tribunal. William J. Jefferson, the then US congressman and co-chair of the Africa Trade and Investment Congressional Caucuses, described the Tribunal as ‘an excellent start in redressing Nigeria’s negative history in financial matters.’ Mr. Z. Scott Bridwell of the then US-SEC described the Tribunal as ‘a special judicial model for securities market’ and recommended the Tribunal for global emulation. In Amman-Jordan, Mr. Philippe Richards, the then Secretary-General of International Organisation of Securities Commissions (IOSCO) acknowledged the importance of the IST and gave phased conditions for the Tribunal to become a full member of IOSCO while Dr. Bassam Sacket, the then President of the Jordan-SEC described the Tribunal as ‘a major confidence-building market infrastructure’ to the admiration of Nigeria by all Africa and Middle East Regional Committee (AMERC) members. The Tribunal facilitated the qualification and eventual admission of the Nigerian capital market as Appendix A signatory to IOSCO’s Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MMOU). The IST is envisioned to be a world class specialized Tribunal in the league of the Financial Services and Markets Tribunal of the United Kingdom, The Securities Appellate Tribunal India and the Market Misconduct Tribunal of Hong Kong. The Tribunal has both original and appellate jurisdiction. The decisions handed down by the Tribunal, in the exercise of its original and appellate jurisdiction, are on cases that cut across primary and secondary markets. The parties involved in the cases included SEC-Nigeria, NSE market operators and investors. It is against the backdrop of the recommendation of Mr. Z. Scott Bridwell of the then US-SEC for the global emulation of the Tribunal that this paper aims to bring to light the place and role of the IST in the Nigerian investment environment for other jurisdictions to consider borrowing a leaf from the Nigerian experience. Keywords: Investment, Capital Market, Dispute Resolution and Tribunal

Keywords

Investment, Capital Market, Dispute Resolution and Tribunal