The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has adjourned to April 15, 2021 the case between the Federal Government of Nigeria and Dantata Success and Profitable Company and four others.
The company and its promoters were last year charged before the Federal High Court in Abuja for investment fraud amounting to over N2billion.Those charged along with the company are Basira Ibrahim Dantata, Lawan Sanni and Gaji Ibrahim Dantata.
The defendants who were arraigned before Justice A. I Chikere of Federal High Court 3, were alleged to have between 2018 and 2019 within the jurisdiction of the court with intent to defraud about 7,250 investing public to subscribe and invest in an unregistered investment scheme amounting to over N2 billion.
According to the charge, they committed an offence contrary to Section 54 of the Investments and Securities Act 2007 and punishable under same section.
When the matter came up in court Wednesday, one of the defendants Gaji Ibrahim Dantata was not available due to health reasons.
Justice Chikere thereby adjourned the matter to April 15, 2021 for plea and motion filed by the defendants.
Recall that the Securities and Exchange Commission pursuant to its powers under Section 13 (w) of the Investments and Securities Act (ISA), 2007, on 6 February 2019 sealed up the business premises of Dantata Success & Profitable Company (DSPC), a company that had been engaging in illegal activities in the Nigerian capital market. In addition, the Commission obtained court orders to freeze the bank accounts of the company to preserve the funds of investors in line with Section 13 (x) of the ISA 2007.
The company was not registered or authorized by the Commission to engage in any activity in the capital markets, however it targeted and reached Nigerian investors through radio programs in the Kano area of Nigeria and collected large sums of money from investors under the guise of a “structured investment”. The activities of the company contravene the provisions of Section 38(1) and 67(1) of the Investments and Securities Act which respectively, prohibit unregistered and unauthorized entities/persons from operating any investment business or making any invitation to the public to acquire or dispose of any securities of a body corporate or to deposit money with anybody corporate for a fixed period or payable at call.
The Commission also issued a warning to the public that Dantata Success & Profitable Company and any individuals representing them are not registered and therefore not entitled to provide investment advisory or services in Nigeria.
The Commission further warned the public to exercise utmost caution before deciding to subscribe to investment schemes and to always confirm the registration status of any company or individual and the products they are offering before entering into any transaction with them.