Supreme Court Confirms Tribunal's Ruling on Market Manipulation

On December 12, 2025, the Supreme Court of Nigeria, presided over by Justices John Inyang Okoro, Helen Moronkeji Ogunwumiju, Adamu Jauro, Festus Obande Ogbuinya, and Abubakar Sadiq Umar, addressed a case involving an appellant who obtained foreign credit facilities totaling USD$270 million from Merrill Lynch International and HSBC Bank Plc between 2007 and 2008. The appellant used these funds for a share buyback scheme through its subsidiary, Union Trustees Limited, which purchased over 609,852,000 units of the appellant's shares via Falcon Securities Limited.

The respondent flagged these transactions as market infractions, alleging they created a misleading appearance of active trading, leading to inflated stock prices. The Investment and Securities Tribunal found the appellant and ten others guilty of market manipulation under the Investments and Securities Act 2007.

The Court of Appeal partially affirmed this decision, and the appellant subsequently appealed to the Supreme Court, which considered the jurisdictional issues raised.