SEC partners judiciary on investors' protection

chika ebuzor

February 25, 2016 7:19 AM

The Director - General of SEC, Mr Mounir Gwarzo, said the collaboration was crucial to ensure that the rights of investors are protected.

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and the Nigerian Judiciary on Wednesday pledged to collaborate to boost investor confidence in the dispute resolution mechanisms available in the capital market.

This is contained in a statement by the SEC management and made available to newsmen in Abuja.

It said the duo made the pledge at the 2016 Judges Workshop organised in collaboration with the National Judicial Institute (NJI) in Abuja.

According to the statement, the Director - General of SEC, Mr Mounir Gwarzo, said the collaboration was crucial to ensure that the rights of investors are protected.

Gwarzo said the role and responsibility of the Commission as provided in the ISA 2007 included the powers to register, inspect, investigate, discipline and suspend any market operator.

''The Act also gives SEC substantial powers to make rules and regulations and also to impose sanctions on and enforce decisions against erring capital market operators, or their sponsored individuals.

“In pursuance of the above mandate, we leverage on stakeholder engagements to share knowledge and information on areas of mutual interest.

''That is why you cannot downplay the essence of the judiciary, especially in terms of investor’s protection.''

He explained that Investors would be very comfortable to invest if they invested in the market.

He said if they were not able to get what they wanted, they could have recourse to a way and means that the issue could be resolved.

“And the only way such issue can be resolved is when both the capital market and the judiciary are on the same page.

"The judiciary needs to understand the workings of the capital market; the capital market needs to understand the workings of the judiciary; this is the essence of the collaboration, for us to understand each other better,” he said.

According to Gwarzo, capital market encompasses all parts of the financial system where long-term equity or debt securities are bought and sold.

He noted that by definition, such markets were highly specialised and governed by distinct sets of rules and regulations.

chika ebuzor