Ngozi Chianakwalam is the Chairman, Investment and Securities Tribunal (IST). She was also a Solicitor General and Director of Prosecution (DPP) in Abia State.In this interview with Yetunde Oladeinde, she talks about life at the tribunal, the challenges, state of the capital market and more.
WHAT is the mandate of your tribunal? The Investment and Securities tribunal adjudicates on Capital Market issues. These are cases arising from shares, brokers, the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and so on. The Tribunal came about after the government set up a panel. You know that in the regular court cases take a very long time, so concerning the capital market there is need for cases to be decided timely because Shares are volatile.
Matters concerning the capital market have to be decided very expeditiously. At a point in time, the Federal Government felt that there was need to look at what could be done and they set up a panel, the Odife panel. Then the Odife panel worked on it and after extensive investigations came up with a report. One of the recommendations was setting up a Tribunal that was different from the regular court, to handle capital market issues. That was how the Investments and Securities Tribunal came to be. It took off in the year 2002.
Are there some landmark cases?
Yes, we have quite a number of Landmark cases. There is a law that makes provision for the setting up of the investor’s fund. Many investors lose their money, lots of money running into millions either through fraudulent practices by bankers or stockbrokers. A position was made for that fund in the Investment and Securities Act but nothing was done about it until the IST delivered a judgment and gave the Nigerian Stock Exchange Commission a mandate and a time frame within which to set up the fund. They were forced to set up the fund and fortunately the inauguration of the committee for the fund took place last year. That is one of the landmark cases and there are quite a number of them in different areas.
At what point, did you come into the tribunal?
I came into the tribunal in February, 2013. When I came in I met quite a number of challenges. The first was that we did not have a befitting office at the headquarters and even at the zonal offices. They are rented apartments and like you know many landlords don’t like to renovate their buildings. Where we were staying in Abuja was not good enough, I would want to call it an eyesore.
So, my ambition was to get us a befitting place. We are a world class Tribunal, the United States Securities and Exchange Tribunal does not even have our kind of Truibunal. In 2013 when we attended a programme with over 80 countries the officials there who commended us asked others to emulate us, saying Nigeria is a trail blazer. So if you have this kind of tribunal, you should also have a befitting office.
My desire is that different countries from Africa should come to borrow a leaf from us. The second challenge was fund. Normally, we are funded by the Federal government budgetary allocations but with the falling economy, allocations have been falling and falling over the years.
There was not much to take care of the basic needs of the Tribunal but we have always been fighting for the capital market because the other players in the market, Nigerian Stock Exchange, Securities and Exchange Commission, Central security legal system, all get funded from proceeds of the transaction fees. They charge one per cent of every fee and we were just asking for ten per cent of that one per cent.
It was a fight and I am happy to say that the coordinating Minister of the Economy, Dr Ngozi Okonjo Iweala has directed SEC to look into it holistically to make sure that we get funding. I am also happy to say that as at last year an order was made for us to get funding, even though there is still some hiccups and resistance here and there.
Another major challenge was that the staff had not had promotion since 2011; there was a little rumble of industrial unrest when I came in and so I begged them to allow me to settle down first. I am happy to say that we conducted promotion exams last year and we got approval from FEC to get our own house in Abuja.
Let’s talk about memorable moments at the Tribunal?
For me, it was when we got FEC approval to acquire our own place. They also gave directive that they should give us land in the central business district.
Are you the first female to hold this position?
No, I am the second. The first was also a female and she held the position for two terms of five years each making ten years. It is usually tenure of five years, renewable for a second term. Women are doing very well on the job. If you work hard enough, nobody would think of you as a woman.
How would you describe the state of the capital market today?
You know that there was a fall in the capital market after the problems that occurred between 2007 to 2008. The transactions are building up now; there was a lull prior to the elections. They didn’t know what the outcome of the election would be but immediately after the election, there was a rise again. The capital market is building up and we are praying along with it. Since I came in, we have delivered about 55 judgments and the total verdict in monetary value is worth over 350 billion naira. The tribunal has helped to boost confidence in investors.
There are some outstanding issues, you know lawyers like to explore loopholes and so they come up with preliminary objections. We have quite a number of Appeals pending at the Court of appeal. What we did last September to save the situation was to have new IST rules. So here if you have a preliminary objection, then you have to file it along with the case, so that the delay can be cut off.
What constitutes a crime in your court?
Our court is a civil court; it is not a criminal court. Once SEC gets reports about problems in the market, it is their duty to report to us. They may try it before their own administrative proceedings committee. When they are not satisfied with the judgment of that committee, then you can come to us. You can also come directly to us. For example, you may have complained to SEC and they didn’t do anything. You have a right to file your case before us.
The type of cases that come to us includes market manipulations, shares manipulations, and infractions.
There was a time when banks were claiming to give people loan to buy shares; those are the kind of cases that come to us. If your stock broker sold your shares without your permission. We also have acses of people collecting money from investors claiming that they are investing them and at the end of the day, they don’t. We also have an Alternative Dispute Resolution department that deals with fraud claims. We are very expeditious and the Law says we should complete our cases within 90 days.
How has working with the Tribunal affected you personally?
It has broadened my perspective. It is a different area entirely in my career. I have been in persecution, litigation and now this is adjudication. I was called to the bar in 1978. My father was also a judge; he inspired me but he didn’t force me. My mother was a fashion designer.
Let’s talk about life as Solicitor General in Abia State.
It was quite interesting because Abia State was created in 1991. I worked in the Ministry of Justice, Imo State, then I was already a deputy director and we had to go back home to set up a new Ministry. There were four of us who were the most senior and we were virtually mates. I became the pioneer DPP and another became the pioneer Solicitor General.
I was DPP for 9 years. It was quite challenging especially when you had to decide on all the criminal matters in the state. You get threats, you get all kinds of things but once you believe you are doing the right thing, God would just protect you. In 1999, I was appointed Solicitor General.
Was there a memorable case that you like to remember?
I remember that there was one notorious kingpin in Abia, Umahia to be specific at that time. People thought he was untouchable, then he committed an offence and the police came from Lagos to investigate him. In the process of investigation, they found arms in his office and we charged him with unlawful possession of firearms and he wanted to bypass me and go above to stop the case. It was a battle between me, him and those above me. We got him locked up and people were surprised, saying who is this woman.
