LA SUITE APRÈS LA PUBLICITÉ

Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission – CAC has initiated a new wave of enforcement, putting approximately 100,000 companies at immediate risk of being struck off the national register.

This latest regulatory sweep, announced in a public notice on Wednesday, July 15, 2026, targets entities that have failed to comply with essential statutory filing obligations. The commission is executing this exercise under the legal authority of Section 692(3) and (4) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act – CAMA, 2020.

To avoid being permanently delisted, the affected companies—whose names have been published on the CAC’s official website—have been granted a strict 90-day grace period to regularize their corporate records. The commission requires these entities to file all outstanding annual returns and disclose details regarding Persons with Significant Control – PSC, which is also known as beneficial ownership information. Once these filings are completed, businesses must submit proof of compliance to the CAC’s designated email address.

The regulatory body warned that any company failing to meet the three-month deadline will be permanently removed from the database without further notice. According to the CAC, this rigorous enforcement is part of an ongoing strategy to sanitize Nigeria’s business environment and maintain a highly credible, accurate national database. By removing inactive or non-compliant organizations, the commission aims to protect the overall integrity of the corporate registry.

This database cleanup follows a sequence of aggressive regulatory actions by the CAC aimed at weeding out dormant shell companies. Earlier in February 2026, the commission issued an identical warning targeting another batch of 100,000 inactive businesses.

Furthermore, in 2025, the CAC successfully deregistered over 400,000 companies for prolonged inactivity, signaling a sustained clampdown on corporate negligence and strengthening public trust in the country’s business framework.

Under CAMA guidelines, registered companies must file annual returns within 42 days of their incorporation anniversary, while registered business names must complete their filings annually before June 30.

Neglecting these deadlines attracts hefty late filing penalties alongside the imminent threat of deregistration. Additionally, the mandatory reporting of Persons with Significant Control serves as a critical measure to boost corporate transparency and combat illicit financial flows, aligning Nigerian businesses with international standards.