SEC Launches Campaign To Recover Unclaimed Dividends

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has launched a nationwide campaign to help investors recover unclaimed dividends and inherited investments.

The SEC campaign was unveiled in Abuja through the Probate/Unclaimed Monies Awareness and Investor Clinic. It aims to educate investors, beneficiaries and estate executors about probate procedures, estate administration and how to access inherited financial assets.

SEC Director-General, Dr Emomotimi Agama, said the Commission was tackling a long-standing problem that has prevented many families from accessing investments left by deceased relatives.

He said beneficiaries often struggle to obtain probate, letters of administration, death certificates and other documents needed to claim shares, dividends and other financial assets.

“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 described unclaimed dividends and dormant assets as a major concern for Nigeria’s capital market because the funds should benefit families rather than remain unused.

“Across our market, unclaimed dividends and dormant assets represent real money—money that belongs to real families, sitting idle, disconnected from the people it was meant to serve,” he said.

Agama said the Commission would address the problem through policy reforms and continued engagement with investors and beneficiaries.

Ms Nkechinyelu Okoye, Acting Chief Executive Officer of Meristem Registrars and Probate Services Limited, said poor awareness and weak estate planning also contribute to the problem.

She identified beneficiaries who do not know that financial assets form part of an estate, those unaware that deceased relatives owned investments, and those unfamiliar with the documents needed to claim them.

The SEC campaign seeks to close these knowledge gaps and make it easier for families to recover unclaimed dividends and other inherited assets.

Will greater awareness help more Nigerian families recover dormant investments?