The Chairman of the Investments and Securities Tribunal, Amos Azi, has hailed the Tribunal’s onboarding to an e-filing platform as a milestone that will significantly enhance Nigeria’s investment environment.
Azi made the remarks in Abuja during a stakeholders’ engagement meeting convened to unveil the IST’s new digital case filing system. He noted that the transition to e-filing is expected to boost investor confidence and encourage intentional capital inflows into the country.
He, however, cautioned that once the e-filing system goes fully live, the Tribunal will discontinue physical filing of cases.
He emphasized that the meeting was organized to ensure that legal practitioners are adequately trained to navigate the new digital process.
In a related development, the Chairman of the Nigerian Bar Association, Gwagwalada Branch, Owhor Clever, called on the Tribunal to extend training sessions to NBA members to ensure a smooth transition to the new system and seamless court procedures.
The stakeholders’ session featured participation from key locations including Abuja, Port Harcourt, and Enugu State, via virtual platforms.
Barring any changes, the IST is scheduled to commence e-filing operations in July 2025.
In his remarks, Azi also revealed that the newly enacted Investments and Securities Act now stipulates penalties of not less than N10 million for operators of Ponzi schemes a development absent in the repealed 2007 Act.
According to him, the new legal measure is intended to counter the growing threat posed by illicit investment operations in the capital market and act as a deterrent.
Beyond the sanctions, Azi highlighted other progressive reforms introduced by the Act. These include the classification of digital assets as securities, legal recognition of cryptocurrency, and the inclusion of virtual service providers under regulatory oversight.
He explained that these innovations would support the establishment of virtual exchanges and extend the Tribunal’s jurisdiction to resolve disputes within the digital financial space provided such cases first pass through the complaint management framework.