BREAKING: Tinubu Signs Investments & Securities Bill 2025 Into Law
President Ahmed Bola Tinubu, has assented to the Investments and Securities Bill (ISB) 2025, which repeals the Investments and Securities Act No. 29 of 2007 and enacts the Investments and Securities Act 2025.
This landmark legislation strengthens the legal framework of the Nigerian capital market, enhances investor protection, and introduces critical reforms to promote market integrity, transparency, and sustainable growth.
The enactment of the ISA 2025 reaffirms the authority of the SEC as the apex regulatory authority of the Nigerian Capital Market as well as to regulate the market to ensure capital formation, the protection of investors, and maintenance of fair, efficient and transparent market and reduction of systemic risks.
The Act also introduces transformative provisions to further align Nigeria’s market operations with international best practice.
Speaking on key highlights of the Act, Director General of the SEC, Dr. Emomoitimi Agama said the Act enhances the regulatory powers of the SEC in a manner comparable with benchmark global securities regulators.
These enhanced powers and functions ensure full conformity with the requirements of IOSCO’s Enhanced Multilateral Memorandum of Understanding (EMMoU), enabling the SEC retain its “Signatory A” status and enhancing the overall attractiveness of the Nigerian capital market.
He said other notable provisions of the ISA 2025 include: Classification of Exchanges and inclusion of provisions on Financial Market Infrastructures. The Act classifies Securities Exchanges into Composite and Non-composite Exchanges. A Composite Exchange is one in which all categories of securities and products can be listed and traded, while a Non-composite Exchange focuses on a singular type of security or product.
There are also new provisions on Financial Market Infrastructures such as Central Counterparties’, Clearing Houses and Trade Depositories.
Other highlights of the Act are expansion of the definition and understanding of Securities,– The Act explicitly recognises virtual/digital assets and investment contracts as securities and brings Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs), Digital Asset Operators (DAOPs) and Digital Asset Exchanges under the SEC’s regulatory purview.
The SEC Boss disclosed that the Act contains a new part which provides for the regulation of Commodities Exchanges and Warehouse Receipts. These provisions are essential to allow for the development of the entire gamut of the Commodities ecosystem.
On the Issuance of Securities by Sub-Nationals and their Agencies, salient provisions of the Act addressed existing restrictions in respect of raising of funds from the capital market by Sub-Nationals to allow for greater flexibility in this regard.
