By Aduragbemi Omiyale
The trial of Dantata Success and Profitable Company and four others was stalled on Wednesday at the Federal High Court in Abuja.
The company and its promoters are in court over a suit filed by the federal government through the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), accusing them of operating in the nation’s capital market without being duly registered.
The apex regulatory agency in the capital market dragged them before Justice A. I Chikere for committing an offence contrary to Section 54 of the Investments and Securities Act 2007 and punishable under the same section.
The SEC specifically said between 2018 and 2019, within the jurisdiction of the court, the firm and their promoters asked the investing public, about 7,250, to subscribe and invest in an unregistered investment scheme amounting to over N2 billion.
The commission gave the names of the promoters as Basira Ibrahim Dantata, Lawan Sanni and Gaji Ibrahim Dantata.
At the court yesterday, when the matter came up, one of the defendants, Gaji Ibrahim Dantata, was not available due to health reasons.
As a result of the absence of one of the defendants, Justice Chikere adjourned the matter to April 15, 2021, for plea and motion filed by the defendants.
Recall that SEC, pursuant to its powers under Section 13 (w) of the Investments and Securities Act (ISA), 2007, on February 6, 2019, sealed up the business premises of Dantata Success & Profitable Company (DSPC).
In addition, the agency obtained court orders to freeze the bank accounts of the company to preserve the funds of investors in line with Section 13 (x) of the ISA 2007.
The company was not registered or authorised by the commission to engage in any activity in the capital markets, however, it targeted and reached Nigerian investors through radio programs in the Kano area of Nigeria and collected large sums of money from investors under the guise of a “structured investment”.
The activities of the company contravene the provisions of Section 38(1) and 67(1) of the Investments and Securities Act which respectively, prohibit unregistered and unauthorized entities/persons from operating any investment business or making any invitation to the public to acquire or dispose of any securities of a body corporate or to deposit money with anybody corporate for a fixed period or payable at call.
The commission also issued a warning to the public that Dantata Success & Profitable Company and any individuals representing them are not registered and therefore not entitled to provide investment advisory or services in Nigeria.
It further warned the public to exercise utmost caution before deciding to subscribe to investment schemes and to always confirm the registration status of any company or individual and the products they are offering before entering into any transaction with them.
