By Dipo Olowookere
Report just reaching us indicates that a suit filed by Oando Plc against the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has been quashed by the court.
The matter, which was heard at a Federal High Court sitting in Lagos today (Thursday, November 23, 2017), was thrown out for lack of jurisdiction.
The court held that it cannot entertain the suit filed by the embattled leading energy firm in Nigeria against SEC because it lacks the jurisdiction to hear the matter.
Oando had approached the court last month to stop the capital market regulator from contracting independent auditors led by Akintola Williams Deloitte to conduct a forensic audit on its affairs.
This was after SEC had placed a technical suspension on the shares of Oando at the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE) because of allegations of capital market infractions.
SEC, in a statement, had explained that its action on the firm followed outcome of a comprehensive review of the petitions against Oando Plc, where it found out that the company breached provisions of the Investments & Securities Act 2007, breached of the SEC Code of Corporate Governance for Public Companies, and had insider dealing.
Oando had claimed it obtained a court order to lift the suspension of trading in its shares and halt a forensic audit planned by SEC.
A spokesman of Oando was last month quoted by Reuters as describing “the actions taken by the SEC, the suspension of the shares of the company and the initiation of a forensic audit [as] prejudicial to the company.”
After SEC suspended trading in Oando shares, the Johannesburg Stock Exchange (JSE) also placed a suspension in trading of the firm’s stocks.
Oando Plc is led by Mr Adewale Tinubu. In September this year, at the company’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, he survived plans to eject him from the position, though he has not been having it rosy since then.
Adedapo Adesanya