The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has issued a directive requiring all capital market operators (CMOs) to declare their level of compliance with the Investments and Securities Act (ISA) 2025 and ensure that tradable instruments in their portfolios are fully registered by January 2026.

The announcement was delivered by the SEC Director-General, Dr Emomotimi Agama, through the Commissioner of Operations, Bola Ajomale, during the 2025 Journalists’ Academy held in Lagos yesterday.

The gathering with the theme, ‘the ISA 2025 and the Future of Nigeria’s Capital Market: Innovation, Protection and Growth’ set the tone for what the regulator described as a new era of discipline, transparency and innovation in the country’s financial system.

Agama said that every individual or institution involved in selling any tradable instrument must align with the commission’s registration requirements within the stipulated timeframe, stressing that the new act is designed to reengineer the structure and dynamism of Nigeria’s capital market.

He explained that the ISA 2025 is not simply an update to the 2007 legislation but a comprehensive, forward-looking policy blueprint crafted to reposition the Nigerian market within an increasingly complex global financial environment.

For the first time, he noted, the law sets out in unambiguous terms the commission’s mission to act in the public interest, safeguard investors, uphold fairness and transparency, prevent unlawful practices, curb systemic risk and support capital formation. He said this heightened clarity is not only to strengthen regulatory authority but also to enhance institutional accountability.

In addition, he stated that it eliminates the interpretive gaps that once complicated enforcement efforts and ensures that the commission’s activities better align with national economic priorities.

Agama highlighted that the Commission would now have the capacity to probe not only entities directly regulated by it but also unrelated third parties when necessary to unravel market abuse or complex financial schemes.

This is because a significant expansion of investigative authority also forms a major component of the ISA 2025.

He argued that this new scope closes critical loopholes that had previously impeded investigations, signalling that the regulator is no longer constrained by outdated definitions or narrowly confined supervisory boundaries.

According to him, the SEC expects to respond more decisively to emerging threats and protect the integrity of the market with greater precision with these enhanced tools.

Agama described the new Act as the culmination of a collective national resolve to modernise the architecture of Nigeria’s capital market. He attributed the urgency of the reform to several converging forces, including the rapid growth of digital trading technologies, the proliferation of fintech platforms and virtual assets, the repeated exploitation of regulatory gaps by Ponzi-scheme operators, and the increasing complexity of modern financing structures.

He also cited the need for stronger alignment with global standards, especially those of the International Organisation of Securities Commissions, as well as the broader national objective of deepening the capital market as a vital instrument of development.