The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has stepped up its efforts to help Nigerians recover unclaimed funds, dormant investments and inherited financial assets, as concerns grow over billions of naira remaining inaccessible to rightful beneficiaries. The commission launched a Probate/Unclaimed Monies Awareness and Investor Clinic in Abuja to help investors and families understand how to trace and recover shares, dividends and other investments left behind by deceased relatives.
Speaking at the event, SEC Director-General Dr Emomotimi Agama said many families struggle to access inherited investments because they are unfamiliar with probate procedures, documentation requirements and the processes involved with capital market registrars. He described unclaimed assets as real money belonging to families but left idle because beneficiaries often do not know where to begin. According to him, the SEC’s investor protection responsibility extends beyond the lifetime of shareholders to ensuring their beneficiaries can access what is rightfully theirs.
The clinic, organised by the SEC in partnership with Meristem Registrars and Probate Services, brought together representatives from the Federal Ministry of Justice, Probate Registry, National Population Commission and capital market registrars. Participants were given practical guidance on probate procedures, required documents, tracing investments, verifying shareholder records and resolving challenges that can delay the recovery of inherited assets. Agama said the initiative was designed to move beyond awareness by giving beneficiaries practical knowledge they can use to recover their investments.
Meristem Registrars and Probate Services Acting Chief Executive Officer, Nkechinyelu Okoye, identified poor awareness and inadequate estate planning as major reasons financial assets remain unclaimed. She explained that some beneficiaries do not realise that shares, fixed-income investments and money held in financial platforms can form part of a deceased person’s estate, while others may know about the investments but lack the documents or knowledge needed to make a claim. She also urged investors to keep their Know Your Customer details and shareholder records updated and to make proper estate plans.
The SEC said the initiative is part of its wider investor protection strategy aimed at reducing the growing burden of unclaimed dividends, dormant accounts and other abandoned capital market assets. The commission urged investors to prepare valid wills, keep their investment records accurate and ensure their financial affairs are properly organised. With better planning and greater awareness, the SEC believes families can avoid years of uncertainty and ensure that investments built over a lifetime reach the people they were intended for.
source: punch
