By Peter Egwuatu

OANDO Plc, yesterday, obtained a court order to halt the suspension of trading in its shares and a forensic audit planned by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).

Confirming this development, Ayotola Jagun, Chief Compliance Officer & Company Secretary, Oando Plc, in a statement made available to Vanguard said: “The Nigerian Stock Exchange, NSE and SEC were served with the enrolled court order today Tuesday, October 24, 2017 after the technical suspension was carried out by the NSE on Monday, October 23, 2017. In our view both the NSE and the SEC are legally obliged to comply with the interim orders pending the substantive determination of the suit.”

Oando

It will be recalled that shares in Oando Plc were frozen at N5.99 on Monday until further notice, the stock exchange said after the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) ordered a forensic audit into the company. The SEC suspended trading in the stock for 48 hours last week, saying it was investigating complaints about insider trading and discrepancies in its ownership structure.

The SEC has declined to comment on the court order, saying that it was yet to receive the notice. In a SEC letter dated October 17 to Oando, the regulator accused Oando of corporate governance abuses and financial mismanagement, basing its allegations on two petitions received from Dahiru Barau Mangal and Ansbury Incorporated.

It added that it would engage accountancy firm Deloitte to lead the audit together with lawyers and stockbrokers, at a cost of N160 million, which would be borne by Oando. A company source has said the petitions centred on the ownership of some Oando shares bought through an investment vehicle at the time the company bought the Nigerian unit of U.S. firm ConocoPhillips for $1.65 billion in 2014.

Oando has said it was aware the regulator had received petitions and said the allegations were “unsubstantiated, misleading and defamatory”. However, it had not received any notification from the regulator querying its compliance until the recent letter, adding that it has been cooperating with the SEC since the start of its investigation in May.

‘We are of the view that the SEC’s directives are illegal, invalid and calculated to prejudice the business of the company. The company being dissatisfied with the most recent actions taken by the SEC and to safeguard the interests of the company and its shareholders immediately took steps to file an action with the Federal High Court (FHC) against the SEC and the NSE” Jagun said.