Nigeria's SEC Puts Online Forex and CFD Rules Under Review as Expo Opens in Lagos

Nigeria's Securities and Exchange Commission has stepped up its push to regulate online forex and contracts for difference (CFD) trading, telling retail investors that easy access to a trading platform is no guarantee of safety. According to leadership, the regulator used a keynote address at the second Africa Forex Trading Expo in Lagos to confirm that its draft rules for the sector are still under review after feedback from stakeholders.

Contents

01

Draft Rules Still Being Reviewed

02

Five Priorities and a Warning on Leverage

03

Industry Voices at the Lagos Expo

Draft Rules Still Being Reviewed

The SEC said it had released the draft regulations for public comment and that different departments within the commission are now working through the responses received. The proposed framework is intended to set out which categories of operators must register, what activities they are permitted to carry out and what obligations they owe to customers. It also addresses cross-border arrangements and offshore operators whose activities target Nigerian residents, subject to applicable laws.

The commission pointed to the Investments and Securities Act 2025, particularly Section 3, as the legal basis for its authority to register and regulate online forex trading activities, platforms and intermediaries. The remarks were made in a keynote at the expo, held at the Balmoral Convention Centre on Victoria Island, the day before the report was published.

For beginners, the distinction matters. A CFD is a contract that pays out based on the movement of an underlying asset such as a currency pair, without the trader owning that asset. Leverage, which lets a trader control a larger position with a smaller deposit, magnifies both gains and losses. The SEC's warning centres on the idea that opening an account and placing trades is not the same as understanding those mechanics.

Five Priorities and a Warning on Leverage

The regulator set out five priorities behind its proposed approach: a clear framework for market participation; ensuring operators demonstrate fitness, competence and financial soundness; promoting transparency and fair treatment of clients; protecting client funds and providing effective complaint-handling mechanisms; and strengthening supervision and enforcement. It stressed that registration alone would not guarantee compliance, and that operators must remain subject to continuous regulatory supervision.

The SEC cautioned that accessibility should not be confused with safety, and that technological sophistication should not be mistaken for investment quality. It warned that the ability to open an account and execute trades does not mean investors fully understand leverage, transaction costs or the possibility of losing their entire investment.

Investors were urged to be wary of platforms promising guaranteed profits or unusually high returns with little or no risk, to check a platform's regulatory status through the commission's official channels and to avoid unsolicited investment offers. Operators, in turn, were called on to build compliance into their business models, place investor interests at the centre of product design and distribution, invest in cybersecurity and market-integrity technology, strengthen cooperation with regulators and develop local expertise and institutions across Africa.

Industry Voices at the Lagos Expo

The event, held under the theme “Africa's Digital Finance Revolution: Trading, Technology and Opportunity”, is expected to draw more than 5,000 participants, over 50 speakers and more than 60 exhibitors from more than 20 countries, with sponsors including FundingPips, Headway and FXTM.

Zack Kiratu, a director of organiser Azelia Expo Limited, said growth in forex trading must be matched by greater responsibility, pointing to financial literacy gaps, unrealistic expectations, inadequate risk management, questionable marketing practices and consumer protection. “A bigger market is important, but a more credible market is even more important,” he said, naming innovation, trust and opportunity as the elements needed to shape Africa's digital financial markets. He urged the continent to move beyond consuming financial products to helping design and develop them.

Presenting sponsor FundingPips, a proprietary trading firm, said its mission is to bridge the gap between trading talent and access to capital. It said it had recorded more than US$330 million in payouts, served over three million traders and established a presence in more than 195 countries, adding that five Nigerian traders had received nearly half a million dollars in payouts. The firm emphasised discipline and risk management, urging traders to prioritise survival and consistency rather than trying to win every trade. “Hustle gets you into the game. Discipline keeps you in the game,” its presentation stated.

Workshops alongside the main programme focused on trading discipline, strategy development and risk management. Pius Ogbu, a client education specialist at Exinity (FXTM), used a masterclass titled “From Strategy to Execution” to draw a distinction between a trading plan and a trading strategy, stressing that traders should define entry points, stop-loss levels, targets and trade-management rules before executing transactions. Citadel Egigba, founder of Spark FX Academy, led a workshop titled “Beyond the Candlesticks” covering market structure, liquidity and points of interest through practical chart analysis.

The expo continues on Thursday, 12 November, with sessions on Nigeria's position as Africa's fastest-growing digital trading economy, women shaping the continent's financial future and the challenges facing forex traders, followed by further discussion of risk management and strategy validation. The closing ceremony is set to include competition awards, recognition of sponsors and organisers, and the announcement of AFTE Kenya 2027.