…Plans Regulatory Overhaul For Nigeria’s $96bn Crypto Market
…Warns Unregistered Schemes Pose Severe Dangers For Buyers
…Pledges Zero Tolerance For {Financial} Fraud
The Securities and Alternate Fee (SEC) has shut down greater than 400 fraudulent funding schemes throughout Nigeria, signaling an intensified regulatory crackdown on unlawful funding actions and a stronger push to guard buyers.
A number of suspects linked to those schemes are at present underneath prosecution, the fee confirmed.
The disclosure was made by SEC Govt Commissioner for Operations, Bola Ajomale, in the course of the {financial} literacy discussion board “The Cash Truthful,” organized by Nairametrics in Lagos.
Ajomale, who represented SEC Director-Common Dr. Emomotimi Agama, emphasised the regulator’s dedication to safeguarding market confidence amid a surge in unregulated funding platforms.
“During the last three years, we have now investigated and shut down a minimum of 400 of those so-called schemes,” Ajomale stated.
“We noticed an amazing enhance in them final 12 months, and various these concerned have been arrested and prosecuted.”
If the funding product or the operator is just not registered with the SEC, they haven’t any enterprise asking you to place your cash there.”
The SEC has intensified its enforcement measures alongside public consciousness campaigns to curb the proliferation of unlawful funding platforms.
Initiatives such because the “See It, Snap It” marketing campaign and the “SEC Rip-off Alert” platform have been launched to allow Nigerians to report suspicious schemes rapidly, permitting regulators to behave earlier than these operations broaden.
Ajomale famous that the regulator has adopted a multi-pronged technique combining investigations, arrests, and investor training to reinforce market integrity.
“We’re not simply shutting down unlawful schemes; we’re additionally empowering buyers with the information to establish and keep away from fraudulent operators,” he stated.
The crackdown comes as unregulated funding merchandise proceed to pose vital dangers to Nigerian buyers, notably amid rising curiosity in digital and various funding platforms.
Analysts have warned that investor safety and regulatory vigilance are important to stopping large-scale {financial} losses and sustaining confidence in Nigeria’s capital markets.
That is simply as Agama revealed plans to extend Nigeria’s market capitalisation-to-GDP ratio from its present degree of 33 per cent to 92 per cent, matching the extent recorded by India.
Agama made the disclosure on Tuesday throughout a Residents’ and Stakeholders’ Engagement session held on the Federal Ministry of Finance in Abuja. The goal types a part of the proposed 2026–2035 Capital Market Grasp Plan at present being developed.
The engagement was organised as a part of the Ministry of Finance’s first-quarter 2026 residents and stakeholders’ dialogue on the implementation of Presidential Priorities and Ministerial Deliverables.
The Everlasting Secretary within the Federal Ministry of Finance, Raymond Omenka Omachi, defined that the discussion board serves as a platform for the ministry to temporary residents and stakeholders on its insurance policies, programmes, and progress whereas encouraging transparency and open dialogue.
In accordance with Agama, the brand new capital market grasp plan will succeed the 2015–2025 framework and is meant to reposition Nigeria’s capital market as a reputable vacation spot amongst rising markets.
Offering an outline of the fee’s efficiency, Agama stated the capital market skilled notable progress throughout his tenure. He famous that market capitalisation elevated by 125 per cent, rising from N55tn in April 2024 to N124tn by March 2025.
He defined that the growth considerably improved the market’s contribution to the nation’s financial system.
“The expansion in market capitalisation quantities to 33 per cent contribution to the nationwide GDP from 13 per cent in 2024 when he took over workplace,” Agama stated.
The SEC boss additionally revealed that between 2024 and March 2026, the fee facilitated capital elevating price N3.68tn by means of new points out there, with equities accounting for N3.62tn of the entire.
Agama additional highlighted the function performed by the fee in supporting the Central {Bank} of Nigeria’s {bank} recapitalisation programme.
In accordance with him, the SEC enabled the banking sector to lift greater than N2.7 trillion, together with N1.7 trillion particularly used to fulfill the CBN’s recapitalisation necessities.
He added that the recapitalisation train for capital market operators was concluded in January 2026.
The SEC DG additionally raised issues concerning the scale of cryptocurrency actions in Nigeria, describing the sector as largely working outdoors the formal regulatory framework. He disclosed that digital asset transactions price over $96bn happen within the nation every year.
To handle this problem, Agama stated the fee launched the Accelerated Regulatory Incubation Programme, which goals to steadily convey {financial} know-how firms into the regulated {financial} ecosystem.
He additionally introduced that the fee secured $400,000 in funding from the African Growth {Bank} to amass surveillance software program that may strengthen market monitoring and regulatory oversight.
Because the 2026–2035 grasp plan enters its transition part, Agama stated the fee’s broader goal is to shut the hole between Nigeria and different rising economies when it comes to capital market improvement, investor participation, and institutional credibility.
India, which serves as a benchmark for the brand new plan, at present maintains a market capitalisation-to-GDP ratio of about 92 per cent—nearly thrice Nigeria’s current degree—highlighting the dimensions of the fee’s ambition.