Allegations of extortion and abuse of office have been raised against the Registrar-General of Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, SAN, over claims that small business owners were compelled to pay inflated business registration fees.
Sources within the CAC, the fintech sector and the small business community alleged that the Commission directed major fintech companies, including Moniepoint, OPay and PalmPay, to enforce business name registration for point-of-sale (PoS) operators and small merchants at rates higher than the official government-approved fee.
According to the allegations, more than 300,000 micro and small business owners were required to pay ₦20,000 for business name registration, despite the official CAC fee at the time being ₦10,500. The ₦9,500 difference per registration was allegedly diverted to a private consultant reportedly selected by the Registrar-General, raising concerns over possible financial impropriety and abuse of office.
Industry sources claimed that fintech companies were effectively turned into compliance enforcers, with operators allegedly threatened with suspension or shutdown if they failed to register. Many affected business owners said they were unaware of the official CAC fee and believed the higher amount paid was government-mandated.
Further allegations suggested that the extra charges were routed through a consultant appointed outside established procurement processes. A CAC source claimed the arrangement allowed fintech platforms to facilitate registrations, but applications were allegedly processed through the nominated consultant, with claims that the Registrar-General benefited financially from each registration.
Meanwhile, a group known as the Concerned Staff Forum has petitioned the Chairman of the Code of Conduct Tribunal, accusing Magaji of abuse of office, financial impropriety and other misconduct. The petition also called for investigations by the National Assembly, the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
Responding to the allegations, Magaji denied wrongdoing, stating that the actions taken by the CAC were in line with existing laws. He explained that PoS operations are regulated under the Central Bank of Nigeria’s agent banking framework, which requires operators to be registered entities.
Magaji said the CAC opted to regularise unregistered operators rather than impose penalties, stressing that the initiative was driven primarily by security concerns, including the need to trace financial transactions linked to crimes. He also noted that CAC had launched programmes to provide free business registrations to hundreds of thousands of Nigerians and maintained that any additional charges imposed by fintech platforms were determined by private service providers, not the Commission.
He added that CAC receives only its official fees and does not benefit from extra charges, urging journalists and investigators to scrutinise the claims.
