Court throws out BGL, Okumagba suits against SEC

The hope of Albert Okumagba, and his companies, including BGL Plc to have the courts lift the hammer of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) against them has failed.

The three suits they filed against SEC were on Monday thrown out by the Federal High Court sitting in Lagos for lack of competence.

According to NAN reports, the cases dismissed by the court were FHC/L/CS/767/2015 BGL PLC & 4 ORS VS SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION, FHC/L/CS/1050/2015 BGL PLC & 12 ORS VS SECURITIES and EXCHANGE COMMISSION & 2 ORS FHC/L/121/2016 BGL ASSETS MANAGEMENT LIMITED & 22 ORS VS SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION & ANOR.

SEC had, last year, suspended BGL Asset Management Ltd, BGL Capital Ltd and BGL Securities Ltd from all capital market activities for violation of Investments and Securities Act (ISA).

The commission also directed that the Group Managing Director, BGL Group, Albert Okumagba, should cease to be a registered sponsored individual with the commission, following the withdrawal of the registration of BGL Plc as a capital market operator.

SEC explained that all suspicious transactions observed in the course of the investigation had been referred to the appropriate law enforcement agencies for further investigation.

BGL Asset Management, BGL Capital and BGL Securities and all individuals involved in the management of the said companies had been referred to the SEC Administrative Proceedings Committee (APC).

Read also: SEC probes BGL again over N2.9b funds

The committee considered the report of a detailed investigation into the various complaints received from investors against subsidiaries of BGL Group, and directed that the three companies be suspended from all Capital Market activities.

Okumagba prior to the investigation was the President, Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS) but was asked to step aside by the institute because of investors’ confidence.

During the same period, the SEC Director-General, Mounir Gwarzo said that the commission was investigating the operations of BGL Plc, a financial services company, and that the commission had set up an interim management team to investigate the company’s operations.

The interim management team set up for BGL by SEC was headed by Mr Oladipo Aina, with Mr Abubakar Ambursa, Mrs Hafsat Rufai, Ms Temitayo Siyanbola and Ms Tonne Ladipo-Ajayi as members.

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