The Nigerian Exchange Regulation Limited (NGX RegCo) has fined 17 listed companies a total of ₦133.4 million for failing to file their 2024 audited results and interim financial statements for 2025 within the required deadlines. The penalties, disclosed in NGX’s latest X-Compliance Report on September 4, 2025, cut across the insurance, banking, oil and gas, and industrial sectors, with insurance firms making up the bulk of the defaulters.
Topping the list of offenders was Universal Insurance Plc, which was hit with a combined sanction of ₦41.3 million for late submission of its 2024 audited accounts and delays in filing interim statements for the first two quarters of 2025. Jaiz Bank Plc followed with ₦15.9 million in fines, while Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc and Oando Plc incurred penalties of ₦13.8 million and ₦13.4 million, respectively. Other notable defaulters included Prestige Assurance Plc (₦12.1 million), Conoil Plc (₦11.5 million), and Cornerstone Insurance Plc (₦10.2 million).
The sanctions were imposed under the Rules for Filing of Accounts and Treatment of Default Filing, which mandate that companies submit audited results within 90 days of year-end and interim financials within 30 days of each quarter. NGX RegCo emphasized that the fines are meant to enforce compliance and preserve market integrity, warning that repeated violations could attract harsher measures such as suspension of trading or outright delisting.
Already, three insurers, Regency Alliance Insurance Plc, International Energy Insurance Plc, and Universal Insurance Plc, have been suspended from trading this month for failing to meet the 2024 audited filing deadline. Market analysts say the rising sanctions reflect NGX’s tougher stance on poor disclosure practices, especially in the insurance sector, where compliance failures have been frequent.
Shareholder advocate Boniface Okezie, National Coordinator of the Progressive Shareholders Association, welcomed the move, saying stricter penalties will compel firms to be more transparent and improve investor confidence. However, some experts caution that persistent defaults could erode trust and slow the growth of Nigeria’s capital market. NGX RegCo, in its statement, stressed that the sanctions are “not punitive but necessary” to protect investors and strengthen the credibility of the exchange.
Source: The sun