Yemisi Izuora
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) will on Thursday August 6, hold an investor clinic in Abuja to educate investors and beneficiaries on how to recover unclaimed monies and inherited investments in the Nigerian capital market.
The programme, tagged “Probate and Unclaimed Monies Awareness and Investor Clinic,” is part of a nationwide awareness campaign launched by the Commission in collaboration with Meristem Registrars and Probate Services Limited to improve investor protection, financial literacy and confidence in the capital market.
Speaking on the initiative, the Director-General of the SEC, Dr. Emomotimi Agama, said the campaign was aimed at helping investors and beneficiaries understand the procedures for recovering investments due to them while strengthening public confidence in the Nigerian capital market.
“Investor protection remains at the heart of the Commission’s mandate. Through this awareness campaign and Investor Clinic, we are bringing regulators and market operators together to help investors and beneficiaries understand the claims process, recover investments due to them and strengthen public confidence in the Nigerian capital market,” Agama said.
The Commission said thousands of investors and beneficiaries across the country remain unaware that they may be entitled to unclaimed funds arising from scheme consideration, return monies or inherited investments belonging to deceased relatives, largely because they are unfamiliar with the required documentation and claims procedures.
According to the SEC, the one-day programme at its Abuja headquarters will bring together representatives of key institutions involved in investor protection, estate administration and capital market operations to provide educational sessions and practical guidance.
Participants will also receive one-on-one support from SEC officials, registrars and other capital market professionals on issues relating to unclaimed investments, share ownership, probate, share transmission and beneficiary claims.
The Commission encouraged investors with outstanding capital market claims, shareholders with unclaimed monies resulting from mergers, acquisitions or unallotted securities, beneficiaries of deceased investors, executors and administrators of estates, legal practitioners, investment advisers and prospective investors to attend the free event.
It advised participants to come with relevant documents where available, including valid means of identification, share certificates, CSCS statements, dividend warrants, bank account details, probate or letters of administration, death certificates and other documents relating to ownership or claims. However, it noted that attendees without complete documentation would still receive guidance on the requirements and steps needed to regularise their claims.
The SEC also urged members of the public to transact only through SEC-registered market operators, warning that legitimate claims should never be processed outside approved channels.
It reaffirmed its commitment to promoting a fair, transparent and inclusive capital market where investors are well informed, their rights are protected and confidence in the market continues to grow.