INTERNATIONAL - Onando said that a move by Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to suspend trading in its shares and order a forensic probe “is illegal, invalid and calculated to prejudice the business of the company”.
The energy provider secured a ruling from the Federal High Court to prevent both the share suspension and the SEC’s investigation pending a hearing, Lagos-based Oando said yesterday.
The SEC last week ordered an insider-trading probe into Oando after a review of the company found discrepancies in its shareholding structure and related-party transactions that were not done “at arm’s length”.
It said the findings were “weighty” and need to be further investigated by a group of auditors, lawyers, stockbrokers and registrars.
The review was spurred by two complaints of alleged corporate governance failures and financial mismanagement. Oando wrote to the SEC on July 21 addressing the regulator’s allegations, including that the transactions were disclosed and that the insider-trading accusations should be directed at the person involved, according to a separate statement.