By Daniel Abia, P/Harcourt
PORT HARCOURT — The Investment and Securities Tribunal, IST, has cautioned lawyers against filing capital market disputes at the Federal High Court, saying such a practice amounts to a waste of time and resources.
Chairman of the tribunal, Junaid Aminu, gave the warning during a breakout session at the ongoing Nigerian Bar Association, NBA, Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
Aminu said despite the establishment of the IST specifically to adjudicate capital market disputes, many lawyers and even some judges were still unaware of its jurisdiction.
He said the lack of awareness had led to what he described as “forum shopping,” with lawyers filing capital market cases at the Federal High Court and Magistrates’ Courts, resulting in prolonged litigation over jurisdiction.
“IST has been in existence for 24 years. Some judges and lawyers are not even aware of the existence of the Investment and Securities Tribunal. We should realise that this is because there has not been enough enlightenment.
“You can see lawyers engaging in what we call forum shopping. They choose between filing their cases at the Federal High Court and the Magistrates’ Court when it comes to capital market matters,” Aminu said.
He explained that the tribunal was established under the Investments and Securities Act 1999 as part of the institutional framework for ensuring an orderly capital market, protecting investors and strengthening confidence in the Nigerian capital market.
According to him, the tribunal provides a faster and less expensive avenue for resolving capital market disputes, with government funding through the Capital Market Grant helping to sustain its operations.
Aminu explained that parties seeking to institute cases under the tribunal’s original jurisdiction must first lodge their complaints with the Securities and Exchange Commission, SEC.
He said the SEC has 60 days to resolve a complaint, after which the complainant is required to issue a 14-day pre-action notice before approaching the tribunal.
“This is 74 days. From there, you can institute your action before the Investment and Securities Tribunal. That is invoking its original jurisdiction,” he said.
He added that appeals against decisions of the SEC must be filed before the tribunal within 30 days, although an extension could be granted where sufficient reasons were established.
The chairman said the tribunal was intensifying public enlightenment to improve awareness of its role and build confidence among investors and legal practitioners.
He disclosed that the tribunal had established a calendar for public enlightenment programmes across its various divisions.
Also speaking, a member of the tribunal, Felix Onwuneme, identified the continued filing of capital market cases in other courts as a major challenge.
Onwuneme attributed the development partly to the fact that capital market law remained an emerging area of jurisprudence, with many lawyers still operating as general practitioners rather than specialists.
He, however, said the situation was improving as more lawyers were becoming familiar with the tribunal’s processes and procedures, while specialised capital market solicitors were increasingly handling such matters.
He said the issue of jurisdiction had been substantially addressed by the Investments and Securities Act 2025 and recent Supreme Court decisions involving Mufta Ajahwe and the SEC, as well as Union Bank and the SEC.
Onwuneme said: “The only avenue to litigate capital market issues is the Investment and Securities Tribunal. So, any lawyer that wastes his time and goes to the Federal High Court is only wasting resources and energy. The case will be thrown out and they will have to come back to the tribunal.
“It will be a waste of time and money to venture into the Federal High Court on issues that have to do with the capital market.”
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