Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has been engulfed in serious allegations of extortion, abuse of office, and financial impropriety, amid claims that small business owners were forced to pay inflated registration fees through fintech platforms.

The accusations come at a time when millions of Nigerians are grappling with rising inflation, unemployment, and the shrinking informal economy.

Alleged Inflated Registration Scheme

According to multiple sources within the CAC, the fintech ecosystem, and the small business community, the Registrar-General of the Commission, Hussaini Ishaq Magaji, SAN, allegedly directed major fintech companies — including Moniepoint, OPay, and PalmPay — to enforce business name registration on PoS operators and small merchants at fees significantly higher than the official CAC rate.

At the centre of the controversy is a scheme that reportedly compelled over 300,000 micro and small business owners to pay ₦20,000 for business name registration, despite the official CAC fee at the time being ₦10,500.

Sources alleged that the ₦9,500 difference per registration was diverted to a private consultant personally nominated by the Registrar-General, raising concerns about large-scale extortion and possible criminal conspiracy.

Fintech Companies Allegedly Used as Enforcers

Industry insiders claimed that fintech companies were effectively turned into compliance enforcers, with PoS operators facing suspension or shutdown if they failed to register their businesses through the platforms.

Many affected operators said they were never informed of the official CAC fee and were led to believe that the ₦20,000 charge was government-approved.

Consultant Allegedly Pocketed Billions

Sources told SaharaReporters that the extra fees did not go into government coffers but were instead routed through a consultant appointed outside transparent procurement processes.

One source alleged that the consultant received ₦3,500 per registration, amounting to billions of naira given the number of affected businesses.

Further claims suggest that Magaji plans to retroactively legitimise the surcharge through a new agreement with fintech companies.

Additional allegations include the acquisition of luxury vehicles reportedly worth hundreds of millions of naira within a short period.

Petition Filed Against Registrar-General

In August 2025, the Concerned Staff Forum submitted a petition to the Code of Conduct Tribunal, accusing Magaji of abuse of office, financial impropriety, and misconduct.

The petition alleged irregular travel expenses, questionable payments for trips allegedly not undertaken, and misuse of public funds. The Forum called for investigations by the National Assembly, ICPC, and EFCC, demanding transparency in CAC-fintech agreements and consultant contracts.

Magaji Responds

Reacting to the allegations, Magaji denied any wrongdoing, insisting that CAC merely enforced existing laws requiring businesses to be registered.

He explained that PoS operations fall under CBN Agent Banking Regulations, which mandate that terminals be issued only to registered entities.

Magaji said CAC opted to waive penalties and regularise operators instead of sanctioning them, adding that the move was driven largely by security concerns, including cases where ransom payments were traced through unregistered PoS terminals.

He also clarified that CAC has launched a programme offering 250,000 free business registrations, with plans to expand to one million registrations by 2026, in partnership with SMEDAN.

Addressing fee discrepancies, Magaji stated that CAC officially reviewed its registration fees mid-2025, setting the cost at ₦20,000, plus a ₦5,000 availability check, and denied that CAC controls extra charges imposed by fintech platforms.

According to him, any additional fees are private arrangements between fintech companies and service providers, stressing that CAC only receives its official fees.

Magaji maintained that the matter is open to investigation and expressed confidence that no wrongdoing would be established.