ALL SMILES: Prof. Asiwaju (In white native and cap) and his counsel, Mr. Kayode Adeniji (In grey suit & bow tie)

An octogenarian and emeritus professor of history, Anthony I. Asiwaju (MFR), has secured victory against the Security and Exchange Commission (SEC) at the Investment and Securities Tribunal (IST) over the arbitral placing of embargo (lien) on his CSCS account.

The Tribunal decided amongst other things, that the lien placed by the Securities and Exchange Commission was illegal and wrongful. The Tribunal held that it amounted to self-help for the Securities and Exchange Commission to place the lien on the CSCS account of Professor Asiwaju without following the proper legal procedure.

The Tribunal also declared that the Securities and Exchange Commission did not attempt to cure the illegality of its actions by seeking a judicial order. The Tribunal added that in the absence of a foreclosure notice on Professor Asiwaju’s stock, the action of the Securities and Exchange Commission amounted to self-help.

Before the tribunal’s judgment, Professor Asiwaju’s counsel, Mr. Kayode Adeniji of Messrs. Lawracles LP., argued that the action of the Securities and Exchange Commission, of placing a lien on his client’s stocks without any conclusive investigation or any report to ground his alleged involvement in stock market infractions, as an abuse of power.

It will be recalled that in 2011, the Securities and Exchange Commission placed a lien on the stocks of Professor Emeritus Anthony I. Asiwaju (MFR) for alleged stock market infractions.

Professor Asiwaju on the advice of his lawyers filed an action before the Investments and Securities Tribunal sitting in Lagos to seek for an order of the Tribunal; directing the Securities and Exchange Commission to lift the lien or embargo placed on his stocks with CSCS.

The matter which was filed on the 30^th day of March, 2016, stalled at the Tribunal for several months due to the dissolution of the Investments and Securities Tribunal. However, after the reconstitution of the Tribunal, hearing resumed in October, 2017 and Judgement was delivered on the 2^nd day of March, 2018.

Professor Asiwaju, who is a professor emeritus, was the Chair at the department of History of the prestigious University of Lagos, Akoka before his retirement from the academia.