Goddy Egene
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has banned the Managing Director of BGL Plc, Mr. Albert Okumagba and his deputy, Chibundu Edozie, from carrying out capital market activities for 20 years ,and ordered his companies to restitute investors over N2 billion.
The ban followed complaints from investors against Okumagba and his company over failure, refusal and or/neglect to liquidate their investments in both the Guaranteed Consolidated dated Notes and Guaranteed Premium Notes, two investment products run by the company.
SEC had suspended Okumagba and BGL from operating in the market a year ago and has since been investigating the complaints. He was also removed as the President of Chartered Institute of Stockbrokers (CIS).
According to SEC, in a bid to obtain justice for the complainants and grant all parties fair hearing, the matter was presented before the Administrative Proceedings Committee (APC) of the commission which sat on February 6, 2016. During the proceedings testimonies and documentary evidence were tendered by various parties.
SEC said upon the conclusion of the proceedings, its APC arrived at a decision which has been approved by the relevant authority.
The APC decided that by their actions and/or omissions BGL Securities Limited, BGL Asset Management Limited, Okumagba, Edozie, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, 13th, 14th, 15th, 16th, 17th, 18th, 19th, 21st and 22nd respondents engaged in acts capable of adversely affecting the investing public’s image of, and confidence in the capital market.
Consequently, the APC decided that the registration of BGL Securities Limited and BGL Assets Management Limited be cancelled, while Okumagba and Edozien have been banned from capital market operations for 20 years.
The two companies will also pay a fine of N25 million for breaching Rule 1(iii) of the Code of Conduct for capital market operators.
Other than Okumagba and Edozie, Peter Adebola and Ashley Osuzoka have also been banned for five years and four years respectively.
Apart from the ban placed on them and some monetary fines, the companies are directed to refund N24.034 million to the National Open University Staff Cooperative Multipurpose Society; N1.876 billion to Delta State Ministry of Finance; N204.832 million to Azort Nigeria Limited; N10.970 million to Prof. Ojuah Umunnakwe; N3.039 million to Orsule Awase and N10.747 million to Mahmoud Usman.
“That pursuant to Section 304 of the Investments and Securities Act 2007 all information on possible criminality in this matter be and is hereby referred to the appropriate law enforcement agencies and the Enforcement Department of the Commission shall follow up and ensure that the matter is brought to a logical conclusion,” SEC said in a circular on its website.
