By Benson Daniel
The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) is seeking the harmonisation and centralisation of Nigeria’s beneficial ownership information in a single, interconnected framework to improve corporate transparency and strengthen efforts against illicit financial activities.
The Registrar-General and Chief Executive of the CAC, Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, made the call during a stakeholder workshop on beneficial ownership disclosure for journalists and civil society organisations in Abuja.
Magaji said Nigeria currently operates three separate systems for capturing beneficial ownership information. They include the Beneficial Ownership Register maintained by the CAC, ownership information for entities operating in Free Trade Zones under the Nigeria Export Processing Zones Authority (NEPZA), and information relating to the extractive industries maintained under the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI).
He said the three systems collect substantially similar information about the individuals who ultimately own, control or benefit from corporate entities, making greater coordination and interoperability necessary.
The CAC chief said a unified framework would make it easier for regulators, investigators and other authorised users to obtain a more complete picture of corporate ownership, particularly where companies operate across different sectors or regulatory regimes.
The proposal is aimed at reducing information silos and improving the ability of relevant authorities to trace the individuals behind corporate structures.
Beneficial ownership disclosure is designed to identify the natural persons who ultimately own or exercise significant control over companies and other covered entities. Nigeria’s CAC already operates a public Beneficial Ownership Register under the Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020 framework.
Magaji also stressed the importance of adopting common standards and improving data sharing between the different systems while ensuring that access to sensitive information remains consistent with applicable privacy and data-protection requirements.
The commission said better coordination of ownership information could strengthen investigations into money laundering, terrorism financing, corruption, illicit financial flows and the misuse of corporate structures.
The proposed integration would also support greater transparency in business relationships and public procurement by making it easier to establish who ultimately controls or benefits from companies involved in transactions.
For legitimate businesses, a more coordinated system could improve the ability of regulators and other authorised users to verify ownership information and identify potential conflicts or hidden corporate relationships.
The proposal comes as Nigeria continues to strengthen its beneficial ownership transparency framework and its broader efforts to improve corporate governance and combat illicit financial flows.
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