The Investment and Securities Tribunal (IST) said it has so far resolved 300 capital market disputes valued at N1 trillion since its inception in 2003.
This was disclosed by the Chairman of the Investment and Securities Tribunal, Mr. Amos Isaac Azi during an interaction with journalists in Abuja.
Mr Azi also pointed out that the mandate of the Tribunal is focused on settling only disputes arising from transactions in the capital market.
“Since the inception of the Investment and Securities Tribunal (IST) in the year 2003, we have been able to resolve disputes from transactions in the capital market to the tune of almost a trillion, and in the last year, we have resolved disputes valued at N17 billion,” Mr Azi said.
According to him, the IST is the only constitutional court that has a time frame of three months to settle disputes, unlike other constitutional courts where cases linger for so long without a stipulated date of resolution.
“The courts have made tremendous progress, especially in the areas of providing judgments on disputes as it has hardly been overturned at the appellate court where dissatisfied parties go to appeal,” Mr Azi explained.
He highlighted that as part of efforts to adapt to technological advancement in line with global best practices, the Tribunal has built a mechanism to ensure cases can now be filed digitally from anywhere around the world, stressing that the Tribunal has commenced virtual hearings since the COVID-19 era in 2020.
The Director, Planning, Research and Statistics, Emmanuel Chukwuorji stated in his presentation that the Tribunal has resolved over 300 cases so far from inception, noting that the establishment of the IST has brought confidence in the capital market.
Mr. Chukwuorji said, “The IST is a creation of the Capital Markets Committee, and what we have done over the years is to improve investor’s confidence by ensuring that disputes are well vetted before judgments are passed, which is why our judgments are hardly overturned at the Appeal court.”
He described the IST as a foremost organ of government that boosts investor’s confidence and contributes immensely to the ease of doing business in Nigeria.
Mr. Azi said in view of how the Tribunal has been consistently rated high by the Ethics and Integrity Compliance scorecard for Ministries Departments and Agencies (MDAs), “It is definitely a confidence booster for anyone who wants to invest in the Nigerian Capital market.”
