Nigerian regulator launches drive to reclaim N270bn in dormant funds

Nigeria’s Securities and Exchange Commission has begun a nationwide effort to return N270 billion in unclaimed dividends and other capital market funds to investors. The campaign started with a town hall in Lagos on July 16 and will expand across the country's six geopolitical zones and the Federal Capital Territory.

“The Commission considers this situation unacceptable. Funds belonging to investors should ultimately find their way back to their rightful owners,” said SEC Director-General Emomotimi Agama. The initiative marks the first major test of Nigeria's overhauled unclaimed assets regime, addressing a structural problem that has left billions sitting dormant in registrar databases for decades.

Forfeiture model replaced

Under the previous legal framework, unclaimed dividends became statute-barred after 12 years, allowing issuing companies to effectively extinguish the investor's legal claim and absorb the capital. The Finance Act 2020 and the Investments and Securities Act 2025 replaced that forfeiture model with a custodial system.

Under the new rules, dividends unclaimed for six years transfer to the Unclaimed Funds Trust Fund, where the federal government acts solely as a custodian rather than taking ownership. This structural shift ensures shareholders retain perpetual entitlement to eligible unpaid dividends pending the full operationalization of the trust fund.

The funds sitting dormant extend beyond simple missed dividend payments. “Unclaimed monies administered by the NIPF included return monies from public offers, scheme consideration from mergers, acquisitions and corporate restructuring transactions, as well as other funds belonging to investors that had remained unclaimed,” Agama said, represented at the event by Hafsat Rufai.

A primary driver of these dormant balances is inheritance friction. Many families do not know deceased relatives held shares, and even when they do, navigating the legal requirements for transmission—such as obtaining probate—proves prohibitive. “As a result, valuable investments and return on investments sometimes remain inaccessible for many years, thereby denying beneficiaries the financial benefits intended for them,” Agama said.

To maximize the reach of the recovery programme, the SEC will leverage social media, its official website, and traditional channels to publish updated lists of companies whose corporate actions generated the unclaimed funds. The Lagos State Ministry of Justice has pledged to collaborate with the commission to ensure legal processes do not become barriers for legitimate beneficiaries claiming inherited assets.

Alongside the recovery effort, the SEC is using the campaign to warn retail investors against Ponzi schemes. The regulator noted that fraudsters are increasingly exploiting economic pressures and digital platforms to promise risk-free, unusually high returns.