IST resumes sitting in Enugu

Charles Onyekwere

The Investment and Securities Tribunal (IST) yesterday resumed sitting in Enugu, revealing that it would not entertained frivolous applications aimed at delaying justice and unnecessarily overstretching of matters.

This it said would stick to the three months deadline for the adjudication of any case, saying that it was the only way in which the 54 cases inherited by the new panel constituted last month could deliver the matters on time.

Siaka Idoko- Akor,Chairman of the 10-members tribunal, who stated this in Enugu, shortly after their maiden sitting, stressed the need for lawyers and parties to cases to adhere strictly to rules and regulations guiding the conduct of the tribunal, warning that attitude of counsels have always hindered quick delivering of cases.

He said: “Having realized the fact that the tribunal had not sat for a long time and that there are many pending cases, the new tribunal has swung into action starting from Abuja, Lagos and we are now in Enugu in continuation of the sitting to dispose of the pending cases and attend to new ones.

“On the whole, we met about 54 cases that were either partly tried or freshly filed and going by the legal principle that there has to be fair hearing in all cases, we have to start hearing them de’novo (afresh), so as to afford us the opportunity of giving parties fair hearing so as to arrive at justiceable decision. The 54 cases
spread across Enugu, Kano, Abuja, Lagos and others.

Akor added: “ I think it is true that the previous tribunal did not deliver any judgment in the cases handled before they were dissolved, but I think that the government that dissolved them has her reason for doing so. Now there is a fresh panel in place; it means they (government) want a change in the way and manner the previous tribunal was conducting its affairs. As far as we are concerned, we are here to look at the rules.

“The law setting up the tribunal says so. The act setting up the tribunal prescribed a minimum of three months in which a case that has gone into hearing to end and judgment delivered. The target of this tribunal is to ensure that a case that goes into hearing could end in less than three months. To enable us achieve this, we have come up with certain practices and that is, to do away with frivolous and ambiguous practices from counsels or parties that
occasion delay because justice delayed is justice denied”.

Meanwhile, the Tribunal yesterday ruled that it would commence afresh cases involving Dr Okam Kalu Ugwu and Securities and Exchange Commission as well as George Nnona and Guaranty Trust Bank and slated November 6 and 7 for their definite hearings respectively.

It also ordered parties involved in the cases to retrieve documents and exhibits already filed during the earlier trial of the matters and prepare for the new trial date.