SEC launches clinic to help Nigerians recover unclaimed inherited investments

By Onu Okorie

Securities and Exchange Commission SEC has stepped up its campaign against unclaimed funds and dormant investment assets, launching a Probate/Unclaimed Monies Awareness and Investor Clinic to help beneficiaries recover inherited investments and to strengthen investor protection in Nigeria’s capital market.

Speaking at the opening of the clinic in Abuja, organised by the Commission in partnership with Meristem on Thursday, SEC Director-General Dr Emomotimi Agama said the initiative was meant to close the gap between what investors’ families are legally entitled to and their actual ability to access those assets. He said many Nigerian families face long delays in accessing shares, dividends and other investments after a relative’s death, largely because they are unfamiliar with probate procedures, documentation requirements and registrar processes.

Agama described the loss of a loved one who held investments as often marking the start of a confusing process for families left behind. He called unclaimed funds and dormant assets a persistent problem, noting that the money still belongs to real families even as it sits untouched. He said the Commission was committed to closing that gap through policy measures and direct engagement with investors.

He explained that the clinic drew together the Federal Ministry of Justice, the Probate Registry, the National Population Commission and capital market registrars to walk participants through probate procedures, the paperwork required, and how to recover inherited investments. He stressed that it was designed as a hands-on working session rather than a simple awareness event, and that SEC’s duty to protect investors continues even after a shareholder’s death, extending to ensuring beneficiaries can claim what is owed to them without unnecessary difficulty.

Also speaking, the Acting Chief Executive Officer of Meristem Registrars and Probate Services Limited, Nkechinyelu Okoye, pointed to poor awareness and weak estate planning as major reasons billions of naira in financial assets remain unclaimed. She said beneficiaries generally fall into a few groups: some assume only physical assets like land and houses can be inherited and don’t realise shares, fixed income investments and savings-app balances also form part of an estate; others don’t know their deceased relatives held any financial assets at all; and a third group knows the investments exist but doesn’t understand how to claim them or what documents are needed.

Okoye added a fourth category — investors who never update their Know Your Customer (KYC) details, leaving their families unaware that any investments exist to be claimed once they pass away. She said these gaps collectively explain the growing pile of unclaimed dividends, dormant accounts and other abandoned financial assets, leaving resources that could help families instead sitting out of reach.

She said the clinic was designed to go beyond raising awareness, offering practical support to investors, beneficiaries, executors and administrators as they navigate probate and estate administration. She urged investors to draw up valid wills, keep accurate shareholder records and regularly update their KYC information, saying these simple steps now could spare families significant stress and delay later.

The SEC said the clinic is part of a wider investor protection strategy, giving participants direct access to experts who can help trace investments, verify shareholder records, resolve probate-related issues and recover unclaimed capital market assets.