The Corporate Affairs CommissionCAC cracks down on unregistered companies, sets deadline for registration (CAC) has revealed that it removed more than 400,000 inactive and non-compliant companies from its official register last year.
Hussaini Magaji, CAC’s registrar-general, made the announcement on Saturday in Abuja during the commission’s “Celebration Walk,” saying the move was part of an effort to maintain the integrity of Nigeria’s national companies register.
“In 2025 alone, the commission de-registered over 400,000 companies,” Magaji said, stressing that the exercise aimed to clean up the database of entities that were no longer operational or compliant with regulations.
He highlighted that the CAC has completed a major transition from a manual, location-based system to a fully digital, end-to-end platform, enabling Nigerians at home and abroad to register companies remotely.
“Today, CAC provides services anywhere, anytime and 24 hours a day. You can register your business from your room without coming to our offices,” Magaji said, noting that the digital reforms have significantly improved the ease of doing business in Nigeria.
The registrar-general added that the reforms have strengthened public confidence and enhanced transparency in corporate regulation.
Magaji also revealed that, in collaboration with the Small and Medium Enterprises Development Agency of Nigeria (SMEDAN), the CAC facilitated free business registration for 250,000 entrepreneurs, helping reduce costs and encouraging small enterprises to formalise their operations.
He further explained that the commission has operationalised a ‘beneficial ownership register’ to promote accountability by making the ultimate owners of Nigerian companies publicly identifiable.
“The register has since become a global reference point for corporate transparency and efforts to combat financial crimes,” Magaji said.
