SEC floors Oando in landmark judgement

By Philip Clement

The Securities and Exchange Commission has floored Oando Plc in a landmark judgement over lack of jurisdiction.

The Federal High Court sitting at Abuja, in a judgement delivered by Hon. Justice F.O.G. Ogunbanjo, struck out three (3) cases filed by Oando Plc and some of its directors against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for lack of jurisdiction.

Oando Plc and three of its directors namely, Adewale Tinubu, Omamofe Boyo and Olufemi Adeyemo had instituted the cases against the SEC in view of the enforcement action taken against the Company and the affected directors in its letter dated May 31, 2019, for their violation of the SEC Code of Corporate Governance,

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the provisions of the Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 2007 and the SEC Rules and Regulations. Oando Plc and the three directors had prayed the court to hold that their fundamental human rights were violated because according to them, the SEC did not give them fair hearing in investigating some petitions received by the SEC in 2017 from some shareholders of Oando Plc.

The Court in delivering its judgement, struck out the three cases and ruled that the Federal High Court cannot assume jurisdiction to entertain a matter where the subject matter falls outside its jurisdiction under the guise of enforcing fundamental human rights.

The court further held that the Federal High Court lacks jurisdiction to entertain matters arising from the Nigerian Capital Market.