Justice C.J. Aneke of the Federal High Court in Ikoyi, Lagos, has ordered the winding up of CJC Markets Limited, an unregistered and fraudulent capital market firm, for operating an illegal collective investment scheme in violation of regulatory laws.
The ruling came on Thursday, May 22, 2025, following the arraignment of the company by the Lagos Zonal Directorate 2 of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) on a one-count charge of investment fraud.
The EFCC said it received a petition alleging that CJC Markets Limited, in January, collected ₦30 million from one Wamyil Mangna with the promise of a 30% Return on Investment (ROI).
Investigations revealed that the firm was not registered with either the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN) or the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), making its operations illegal.
The charge against the company reads: “That you, CJC MARKETS LIMITED, being a company incorporated in Nigeria, Aihua Chen (at large) and Okungbeni Dickson (at large), being the Directors respectively, sometime in 2021 in Nigeria, within the Judicial Division of this Honourable court, while carrying on your scheme of Collective Investment, failed to register with the Securities and Exchange Commission, and thereby committed an offence contrary to Section 54(1) of the Investment and Securities Act 2007 and punishable under Section 54(6) of the same Act.”
A guilty plea was entered on behalf of the company.
Prosecuting counsel, Abdulhamid L. Tukur, called EFCC operative Christian Chukwu to present the facts of the case. Chukwu testified that the Commission received a petition from legal firm Matthew Burkaa & Co. on behalf of Mangna. During the investigation, letters were sent to the United Bank for Africa (UBA), the CBN, and the SEC—all of whom responded.
Chukwu further disclosed that the company’s finance officer, Mr. Kolawole Josiah, voluntarily gave a statement about the company’s involvement in capital market activities. He identified several key documents, including the petition, official correspondence with regulatory bodies, and the finance officer’s statement, which were tendered and accepted into evidence as exhibits.
Following this, Tukur urged the court to convict and sentence the company. Defense counsel, Adeniyi Komolafe, also requested that the court order the winding up of the firm.
Justice Aneke subsequently convicted CJC Markets Limited and ordered that it be wound up and struck off the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) register.
The court’s decision affirms that CJC Markets Limited operated a fraudulent investment scheme without the mandatory registration with the SEC.
