Take capital market disputes to tribunal, IST tells lawyers

…Says Federal High Court litigation wastes time

Lawyers have been advised against taking capital market disputes to the Federal High Court, with the Investment and Securities Tribunal (IST) warning that doing so amounts to a waste of time and resources.

The Chairman of the IST, Junaid Aminu, stated this during a breakout session at the ongoing Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) Annual General Conference in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.

He said despite the establishment of the tribunal to handle capital market disputes, many lawyers were still unaware of its jurisdiction and continued to file such cases in other courts.

According to him, the practice often results in prolonged litigation over jurisdiction, with cases eventually being referred to the tribunal afterwards.

He explained that the IST 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.

The chairman said: “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.

“We have to be here because this is a gathering of lawyers. We have to let them know that for 24 years, the government has established a mechanism for resolving capital market disputes.”

He said litigation before the tribunal was relatively faster and less expensive, adding that government funding through the Capital Market Grant had helped sustain its operations.

On the procedure for instituting cases, he explained that parties could approach the tribunal through its original or appellate jurisdiction, but must first lodge their complaints with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

He said the SEC had 60 days to address a complaint, after which the complainant would be 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 there were sufficient reasons.

The chairman also disclosed that the tribunal was intensifying public enlightenment to improve awareness of its role and build confidence among investors and legal practitioners.

He said the tribunal had established a calendar for public enlightenment programmes across its various divisions.

Also speaking, a member of the tribunal, Felix Onwuneme, described 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 was an emerging area of jurisprudence and many lawyers remained general practitioners rather than specialists in the field.

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 problem of jurisdiction had been substantially settled 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.

According to him, “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.