Caption: Agama speaking at the public hearing on the ISA 2025 in Abuja November 2024.

• Says Working On USSD Codes For Verification Of Capital Market Operators

Dr. Imomotimi Agama, Director-General of Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) at the weekend said that the Investment and Securities Act 2025 recently signed into law by President Bola Tinubu empowers it to deal with social media influencers and celebrities that hype, or promote any Ponzi scheme operator.
Agama said during an interview in Abuja that the ISA was enacted particular , and gives the SEC powers to deal with the recurrent malaise of Ponzi schemes which has now been termed prohibited schemes, and extends to all other such crimes that people commit.
The SEC, he assured, “is leaving no stone unturned in ensuring that Nigerians have the right information to enable them make wise investment decisions.
“You can see the passion of Mr. President in swiftly signing the Act, he did it in record time within one week. That is because he is particular about the welfare of Nigerians.
“In that Act, if anyone is caught, they are to pay N20 million in the first instance meaning it can go up to as much as N1bn, then they are going to be in prison for 10 years. There is no law in Nigeria that has taken such strict sanctions on Ponzi schemes and its promoters,” he added.
Also as part of sustaining the war against unregistered operators in the country, and amid the recurrence of of Ponzi schemes, he said the commission is fashioning an Unstructured Supplementary Service Data (USSD) code that would enable verification of capital market operators.
Director-General of the commission, Dr. Emomotimi Agama who announced this during an interview in Abuja, said the code would be unveiled at the next Capital Market Committee Meeting scheduled for this quarter.
The Capital Market Committee is a quarterly gathering of the top management of the SEC and chief executives of all operators- stockbrokers, registrars, exchanges and trustees, among others
The commisson, Agama noted, is “introducing the code system that will allow mobile phone users to verify a capital market operator using USSD codes. They do not require internet connection to be able to do this, which means any Nigerians that has a mobile phone will be able to perform this function. If anyone comes to you claiming what they are not, all you need to do is check with the code to know the status of their registration. That will be launched at the next Capital Market Committee Meeting”.
He assured that the SEC is putting all hands on deck to deal with the malaise of unregistered and prohibited operators and schemes because it has a national responsibility to educate people, to develop the market and to get people to understand that wealth can be made legitimately via legitimate means.
“The essence of regulation for us at the SEC is wealth redistribution. And how do we do that? We do that by sensitizing people that they can actually make money through legitimate processes like public offerings, Collective Investment Schemes and other structured products that allow Nigerians to invest into areas that are properly regulated and monitored for them to be able to have a return that is commensurate with what they have put in.
“We are working with the Nigerian Educational Research and Development Council to infuse capital market education from the cradle and also working with consultants to introduce games in financial education. It is something that we must all set out to do. We are also collaborating with other institutions and government agencies to ensure that we are able to enlighten Nigerians on the need to make the right choices and investments,” he added.
The SEC DG warned that registration with the Corporate Affairs Commission does not qualify an entity to be an investment company or carry out investment activities, adding that such an entity can only be qualified to be an investment company if they explicitly receive the registration of the SEC.
“The first thing you ask anyone that comes to speak to you on money matters, ask them the relevant questions on registration with the SEC. We have stockbrokers, registered accountants, registered solicitors etc all of whom are registered by the SEC to provide that advice that you need. We have agents who we call sponsored individuals that can provide this information to those that are interested. Investment inclusion is the end game,” he added.
Agama explained
The SEC boss therefore reiterated the Commission’s earlier warnings to the public to desist from engaging in Ponzi or unregistered investment schemes that promise guaranteed or exaggerated returns. These schemes are not registered with the SEC and do not offer investor protection under the law.
He encouraged investors to conduct due diligence and verify the registration status of any investment firm or product by visiting the SEC website or contacting the Commission directly through official channels adding that the Commission remains committed to its mandate of protecting investors, ensuring fair practices, and maintaining confidence in Nigeria’s capital market.