By Peter Egwuatu

Shareholders in the Nigerian capital market have admonished the judiciary to play positive role on issues that will fast track the development of the market and the economy in general.

*A cross section of Judges

The shareholders who spoke to newsmen weekend, said the judiciary should not delay in dispensing capital market related cases and should also not grant unnecessary orders in favour of capital market operators to shield themselves from punishment after committing infractions.

The advice is coming after the Securities and Exchange a Commission, SEC suspended BGL Plc subsidiaries from the nation’s capital market following infraction committed in its activities with investors.

Speaking in Lagos on how to develop the market, Mr. Moses Igbrude of Independent Shareholders Association of Nigeria (ISAN), said “In the past investors easily got frustrated and discouraged due to the delay in getting justice.

We are now calling on the judiciary that in order to restore investor confidence and as part of their continued contribution to the growth of the market, capital market related cases should be dispensed with speedily.” Igbrude, who is also the Chairman of “Consumer Rights Awareness Advancement & Advocacy Initiative ((CRAAAI), added that the judiciary should discourage the issuance of orders to capital market operators, who, after violating rules, will then run to the courts for cover.

“This has been happening and I believe given the high expectations for change in the entire country, the courts should no longer grant orders to those who have deliberately committed offences and when they are asked to face the music, they run to the court for protection that they do not deserve,” he said.

Collaborating , the National Chairman, Progressive Shareholders Association of Nigeria(PSAN), Mr. Boniface Okezie, said judges should base their judgements on merits of each case instead of indiscriminately issuing orders. “Apart from fast-tracking the judgement delivery process, judges should listen to arguments of both parties and deliver their judgements based on merits.

Also, when any offender is brought before any court, the court should be able to look at the case dispassionately and ask the defendant to go and face the music rather than delay the case unnecessarily or issue orders preventing the defendant from prosecution,” he added.

In his opinion, Mr. Oderinde Taiwo of Proactive Shareholders Association of Nigeria said the judiciary should give speedy hearing to capital market related cases. “The regular courts should also cooperate with special courts such as the Investment and Securities Tribunal(IST) in resolving capital market cases.

A situation whereby IST (which is equivalent to a high court) gives an order and another high court gives a counter order is not good for the market,” Taiwo said. Recall that BGL was recently suspended by SEC over allegations of holding on to clients’ money worth over N6 billion, decided to obtain a Federal High Court order in Lagos to compel SEC to reverse its decision.

SEC is the apex regulatory body for the capital market and is statutorily empowered by the Investments and Securities Act, 2007 to develop and regulate the capital market. Already, some market operators who had commented on the BGL saga had said that the move by BGL was a wrong step.

For instance, Alhaji Gbadebo Olatokunbo, a founding member of Nigeria Shareholders Solidarity Association(NSSA), said the law is supreme and nobody is above it. According to him “SEC is the highest regulator of the capital market while BGL is an operator within the capital market and therefore the SEC rules and regulations are binding on the firm.

“SEC is empowered to sanction any company operating in the market if it violates relevant provisions of the rules. I will advise BGL to go and defend itself like others before the commission’s Administrative Proceedings Committee (APC),” Olatokunbo said.

Also a market operator said,”Rather than running to court, which has the same jurisdiction with IST, BGL should take advantage of the opportunity given by SEC and appear before APC in order to clear all the allegations so that the company can bounce back to business.”

Recently, SEC decided to suspend BGL after the commission’s Executive Management Committee considered the report of a detailed investigation into the various complaints received from investors against subsidiaries of Group.