The Securities and Exchange Commission has insisted that Oando Plc’s Annual General Meeting remains suspended till the determination of its cases and the appeals.
This was disclosed by the apex capital market regulator in a statement on Friday.
According to SEC, all parties and relevant stakeholders are to maintain the status quo, which includes the suspension of the Annual General Meeting, pending the determination of the cases and the appeals.
In the statement, it stated that its attention had been drawn to media reports “on the judgments against the commission concerning its regulatory action on Oando Plc and several of its officers for severe breaches of capital market regulations, some of which are under criminal investigations.”
It stated, “The commission conducted investigations into the activities of Oando Plc and observed certain infractions and violations of securities laws by some members of the board of the company.
“To protect public interest and the integrity of the capital market, the commission sanctioned the company and the affected directors via its letter dated May 31, 2019.”
According to SEC, one judgment of the Federal High Court, Lagos has held that the Federal High Court Nigeria lacks the jurisdiction to entertain the dispute as the jurisdiction lies with the Investments & Securities Tribunal.
“Three judgments of the Federal High Court, Abuja have held that the Federal High Court Nigeria lacks the jurisdiction to entertain the dispute as the jurisdiction lies with the Investments & Securities Tribunal.
One judgment of the Federal Capital Territory, High Court Bwari Abuja has held that the Federal Capital Territory High Court Abuja has the jurisdiction to entertain the matter and granted the reliefs sought by the applicants.
One judgment of the Federal High Court, Kano has held that the Federal High Court of Nigeria has the jurisdiction to entertain the dispute and granted the reliefs against the commission.”
SEC said, “In view of the conflicting judgments of the high courts of coordinate jurisdiction, the commission hereby advises the public that in line with the law (please see Vaswani Trading Co. v. Savalakh & Co. (1972) NSCC 692 and Ojukwu v. Military Governor of Lagos State (1986) 1 NWLR (Pt 18) 621) and the pending appeals/applications for stay of the various judgments, parties and relevant stakeholders are enjoined to maintain status quo, which includes the suspension of the Annual General Meeting, pending the determination of the cases and the appeals.”
What you should know
Recall that in 2017, SEC received petitions from two shareholders of Oando alleging corporate governance lapses and mismanagement of the company, among others.
