SEC hunts down dormant wealth as beneficiaries battle probate hurdles

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has stepped up its campaign to unlock dormant investment assets and reduce the growing pool of unclaimed funds in Nigeria’s capital market, as the regulator moves to address gaps in estate planning, investor records and probate procedures that continue to prevent families from accessing inherited wealth.

The commission’s latest intervention came through a Probate/Unclaimed Monies Awareness and Investor Clinic organised in Abuja in partnership with Meristem recently, bringing together regulators, government agencies, probate officials and capital market registrars to help beneficiaries trace and recover investments belonging to deceased shareholders.

Speaking at the opening of the clinic, Emomotimi Agama, director-general of the SEC, said unclaimed funds and dormant assets represented a persistent investor-protection challenge, describing them as money belonging to families but remaining disconnected from those entitled to it.

“For many Nigerian families, the death of a loved one who held shares, dividends, or other investments marks the beginning of a long and often confusing journey,” Agama said.

He said the problem was compounded by limited knowledge of probate procedures, documentation requirements and registrar processes, leaving beneficiaries unable to access shares, dividends and other investments even when they had legitimate claims to them.

The SEC DG said the commission’s response was designed to bridge the gap between investors’ legal entitlements and their ability to access those assets after the death of a shareholder.

“This commission exists to protect your rights in the capital market, and that protection does not end when a shareholder passes on. It extends to ensuring their beneficiaries can access what is due to them…