CAC: Advocates Unified Nigeria CAC Beneficial Ownership Register

• The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has called for a unified and centralized beneficial ownership register in Nigeria.
• Registrar-General Hussaini Ishaq Magaji stated this initiative aims to combat illicit financial flows, money laundering, and corporate structure abuse.
• Currently, beneficial ownership data is fragmented across the CAC, NEPZA (Free Trade Zones), and NEITI (extractive industries).
• The CAC proposes its corporate registry serve as the central data backbone for this harmonized system.
• Magaji urged journalists and civil society organizations to advocate for interoperability and common standards, while respecting privacy.

He stressed that if the goal is genuine transparency and accountability, information must not exist in isolated silos, making it possible to see a complete picture of corporate ownership, regardless of a company's diverse sectoral interests or regulatory environments.

Nigeria's Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has formally advocated for the harmonization and centralization of the nation's beneficial ownership registers. This significant call, made by Registrar-General and Chief Executive Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, aims to bolster the country's defenses against illicit financial flows, money laundering, and the misuse of corporate entities.

Speaking at a training session for journalists and civil society organizations held in Abuja on Tuesday, Magaji underscored the critical need for an interconnected system. Such a system, he explained, would enable the ready identification of the natural persons who ultimately own or control companies operating within Nigeria, thereby enhancing overall corporate transparency.

The CAC's position is clear: information regarding corporate ownership should not remain dispersed across various institutional databases, especially given that many companies operate across multiple sectors. Currently, beneficial ownership data in Nigeria is managed by several distinct bodies. The CAC itself maintains a general Beneficial Ownership Register, while the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA) oversees entities operating within Free Trade Zones, and the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI) handles information pertinent to the extractive industries.

Magaji clarified that the proposed harmonization is not intended to diminish the legitimate statutory responsibilities of NEPZA or NEITI. Instead, the initiative seeks to create a cohesive national framework, with the CAC corporate registry envisioned as the central corporate data backbone. He emphasized that this effort is about "connecting the dots" and ensuring that the Nigerian beneficial ownership ecosystem operates with a unified voice, common standards, and a consistent level of transparency.

This push for a unified Nigeria CAC unified beneficial ownership register is part of a broader national drive to enhance corporate transparency and prevent businesses from being exploited for corruption, tax evasion, and other unlawful financial activities. Magaji highlighted that despite their separate management, the existing three systems share a fundamental objective: to pinpoint the natural individuals behind corporate structures. He articulated that the core questions – who owns, controls, and benefits from an entity, and who is the natural person behind it – are consistent across all registers.

He stressed that if the goal is genuine transparency and accountability, information must not exist in isolated silos, making it possible to see a complete picture of corporate ownership, regardless of a company's diverse sectoral interests or regulatory environments. This approach would prevent ownership structures from becoming invisible simply because information resides in different institutional compartments.

Recognizing that much of the underlying corporate information is already linked to records within the CAC corporate registry, Magaji emphasized the necessity for improved coordination among these institutions. He also urged journalists and civil society organizations present at the training to actively champion interoperability, the establishment of common standards, and enhanced access to beneficial ownership information. This advocacy, he noted, must proceed while upholding legitimate privacy and data protection requirements.

Magaji concluded by asserting that beneficial ownership transparency transcends mere bureaucratic compliance, serving instead as a vital instrument for corporate accountability and the safeguarding of public resources. He highlighted that a unified CAC register could significantly aid journalists in investigating companies, transactions, procurement arrangements, and business relationships by revealing the ultimate individuals involved.

Lawyers and compliance officers in Nigeria should monitor developments regarding the proposed harmonization of beneficial ownership registers. This initiative signals a future shift towards greater corporate transparency and interconnected data, potentially impacting due diligence, anti-money laundering compliance, and the structuring of corporate entities, requiring proactive advice to clients on anticipated disclosure requirements.

Source: Reporting on recent statements from Nigeria's Corporate Affairs Commission.