Nigeria Opens Beneficial Ownership Register To Expose True Company Owners

Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has fully operationalised its Beneficial Ownership Register, a move designed to expose the ultimate individuals behind registered companies and strengthen transparency, anti-money laundering controls, and investor due diligence.

Registrar-general of the CAC, Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, disclosed this in Abuja, during the Commission’s 35th anniversary activities, marking its evolution from a manual, location-bound registry into a fully digital corporate regulator serving Nigeria’s estimated 250 million population globally, 24/7.

Magaji said the register allows anyone to identify the real owners of companies operating in Nigeria, eliminating the anonymity often used to conceal illicit activity and corporate abuse.

“If you want to know the people behind any company in Nigeria, you just visit our Beneficial Ownership Register. There is nowhere to hide,” Magaji said during activities marking the commission’s 35th anniversary.

He said the register forms part of broader reforms that have repositioned the CAC as Nigeria’s only fully digital, end-to-end government agency, delivering corporate services globally and around the clock to a population estimated at 250 million.

Magaji said the Beneficial Ownership Register has become a reference point for global transparency standards, supporting Know-Your-Customer (KYC) requirements, financial crime prevention, and cross-border investment checks.

The Beneficial Ownership Registry is a public database managed by the CAC to track the true owners of companies and legal entities. It aims to enhance transparency, combat corruption, money laundering, and illicit financial flows by revealing individuals who ultimately own, control, or benefit from corporate structures, rather than just nominal shareholders.

The registry identifies “persons with significant control” (PSC)—natural persons holding over 25 per cent shares, voting rights, or significant influence. It supports anti-corruption efforts, tax enforcement, and compliance with global standards like the Open Ownership Data Standard, which Nigeria adopted as Africa’s first in 2024.

Established under the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020, it mandates companies to submit beneficial ownership details during registration, annual returns, or changes. It was launched publicly on May 25, 2023, as the “Open Central Register of Persons with Significant Control.”

Companies must file PSC data, including names, addresses, national ID numbers, and ownership details. Information is verified against national ID systems and updated annually.

Non-compliance risks fines or delisting; data is accessible to authorities, CSOs, and the public.