The Investments and Securities Tribunal (IST) has raised concerns over the prolonged inactivity of the Administrative Proceedings Committee (APC) of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), saying the situation has contributed to a pile-up of complaints and could affect investor confidence in Nigeria’s capital market.
Felix Onwuneme, a member of the Tribunal, disclosed this during a courtesy visit by the Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS), led by Fiona Ahmed Ahimie, its president, to the IST in Abuja at the weekend.
Onwuneme said certain regulatory matters are required to pass through the SEC’s APC before they can proceed to the Tribunal, but the committee’s inactivity has left some market participants uncertain about how to pursue their complaints.
He said there were indications that the APC had not sat for the past four or five years, creating a bottleneck in the resolution of regulatory disputes.
‘The Administrative Proceedings Committee of the SEC is required to consider certain matters before they can get to the Tribunal,’ Onwuneme said
He added that the inactivity of the committee had resulted in complaints piling up at the commission.
He, however, noted that the Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 2025 had introduced a provision allowing matters to proceed to the Tribunal where the SEC fails to take action within 60 days.
Despite the provision, Onwuneme said a functional APC remained important because the SEC, as the apex capital market regulator, had the investigative machinery required to examine complaints before they reach the Tribunal.
He said the situation was affecting the number of cases reaching the Tribunal and could have implications for investor confidence.
Against this backdrop, Aminu Junaidu, chairman of the IST, said the Tribunal was preparing to adopt new Rules of Engagement following its next board meeting scheduled to hold in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
He said the new rules would form part of efforts to improve the Tribunal’s operations and commence the digitalisation of its processes.
Junaidu said the digitalisation programme was intended to improve efficiency, ease access to justice and strengthen the integrity of Nigeria’s capital market.
He also assured investors and other market stakeholders that the Tribunal would continue to pursue timely resolution of cases without unnecessary delays.
According to him, the Tribunal is prepared to sit on weekends and public holidays where necessary to protect investors and ensure cases are resolved promptly.
‘We are committed to ensuring that cases are handled without unnecessary delays,’ Junaidu said.
The chairman also called for stronger collaboration with the CIS, particularly in capacity building, which he said was one of the Tribunal’s key performance indicators.
He said collaboration between the two institutions would help strengthen the knowledge and skills of professionals operating in the capital market.
On her part, Ahimie said the CIS delegation visited the Tribunal to strengthen the relationship between the two institutions, which she described as important components of Nigeria’s capital market ecosystem.
She said both institutions should work towards building a transparent and investor-friendly capital market capable of attracting more investors.
Ahimie said investor confidence was returning to the market as the sector continued to grow, but warned that activities by fraudulent operators could undermine the progress.
She called for stronger collaboration among the SEC, CIS and IST to identify, expose and bring bad actors to justice.
According to her, Nigeria currently has about 2.2 million registered investors in the capital market, while efforts are underway to attract an additional 10 million.
She said the projected expansion in the investor base made it increasingly important to maintain a credible market where investors could transact with confidence.
The CIS president said the Institute was also ready to work with the Tribunal on investor education to help market participants understand investment risks and avoid fraudulent operators.
She added that the CIS was willing to collaborate with the IST on training and capacity building, including opportunities to extend its programmes to other emerging African capital markets.
Tunde Omolegbe, 11th president of the CIS and a part-time member of the IST, urged the Tribunal to participate in future CIS gatherings involving stockbrokers.
Omolegbe said greater engagement between the institutions would provide an opportunity to clarify their respective roles, discuss challenges affecting the capital market and identify areas for collaboration.
He said closer interaction could also improve understanding between market professionals and the Tribunal while supporting efforts to strengthen the market’s dispute-resolution framework.