Low capacity of litigants and lawyers has led to loss of cases at the Investment and Securities Tribunal (IST), its acting chairman Jude Ike Udunni has said.
Udunni, who made the observation at a meeting with journalists on Friday in Abuja noted that lacking training and sensitization of those that come before the tribunal.
According to him, “many good cases have been lost by those that have an otherwise good case.”
With a total of 70 cases adjudicated in the last three years, the Acting Chairman assured that the tribunal is “poised to dispense justice speedily. We have done it and we will continue to do it,” he added.
Despite its automated process of dispensing justice, he explained that the interstate travel ban due to the covid-19 lockdown was affecting its operations.
The Ah. Head of the Tribunal stated that through its well-thought out judgments/decisions, the Tribunal has been able to establish necessary benchmarks for capital market operations, whilst entrenching a unique jurisprudence for the Nigerian Capital Market, by sanitizing the market, influencing policies and engendering law reforms.
“The judgments have not only had positive impacts on policies and reforms in the market but the IST model is today a template for Capital Market adjudication. This assertion has been variously validated by the affirmation of most of its judgments and rulings by the Appellate Courts.
“Thus the Tribunal’s decisions have immensely contributed to enriching the capital market jurisprudence as well as helping in boosting and maintaining investor confidence in the Nigerian Capital Market.”
Udunni noted that in spite of its laudable achievements over the years, the Tribunal remains largely unknown to investors and potential litigants, thus necessitating the dire need for media exposure.
He said: “This necessity for the much needeed visibility thus underpins the need for publicity, the very essence of this meeting. The Tribunal will thus seek to leverage on the partnership being forged today by this meeting to enlist your cooperation and assistance in showcasing it, in a manner that creates greater awareness of the existence of the Tribunal as the adjudicatory framework for the Nigerian Capital Market to investors and potential litigants.
“The need for a meaningful collaboration with the members of the press “The Fourth Estate of the Realm”, in the Tribunal’s quest for greater visibility cannot be overemphasized.
According to the Investments and Securities Act 2007, the IST acts as a specialized fast-track civil court for the resolution of cases arising from investments and securities transactions, in a timely, transparent, efficient and cost-effective manner.
Under the enabling law, the Tribunal is mandated to conduct its proceedings in such a manner as to avoid undue delays. In this way, the Tribunal must dispose of any matter before it within three months from the date of the commencement of the hearing of the substantive action.
