Federal High Court arraigns promoters of Dantata Success over N2bn investment fraud

The Federal High Court sitting in Abuja has arraigned the promoters of Dantata Success and Profitable Company 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, one of the defendants Gaji Ibrahim Dantata was not available due to health reasons.

Justice Chikere thereby adjourned the matter to November 5, 2020 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.