How to Claim Unclaimed Dividends in Nigeria
Did you know there are over ₦190 billion in unclaimed dividends sitting in Nigeria's capital market right now?
That money belongs to Nigerian investors — people who bought shares in MTN, Zenith Bank, Dangote Cement, GTBank, and hundreds of other companies — but have never received a single naira in dividend payments.
Some of it could be yours.
Whether you bought shares during the 2004–2008 stock market boom, participated in a public offer, or inherited shares from a family member, there's a real chance your name is on a list of investors owed money — and you don't even know it.
The good news: claiming your unclaimed dividends is simpler than most people think. This guide walks you through the exact process, step by step.
What Are Unclaimed Dividends?
An unclaimed dividend is money a company has declared and set aside for shareholders — but the shareholder never received it. The company paid it. It's sitting there. It just hasn't reached your bank account.
This happens for several reasons:
- You participated in an IPO or public offer but never opened a proper brokerage account
- Your bank account details were never registered with the registrar
- You changed banks and never updated your records
- Your address changed and dividend warrants were returned undelivered
- You inherited shares from a parent or grandparent but never claimed them
- A company changed its name through a merger and you lost track of your investment
- Your name was recorded differently — maiden name vs married name, different spelling, missing middle name
Nigeria went through two major waves of retail stock investing: the boom of 2004–2008 when millions of Nigerians bought shares for the first time, and the 2024 bull market driven by new public offers from banks and telecoms. In both periods, many investors never properly completed their registration — resulting in billions sitting unclaimed.
Important: Unclaimed dividends do not accumulate interest. They are also at risk of being swept into the SEC's Investor Protection Fund after six years of inactivity. The earlier you act, the better.
Step 1: Check If You Have Unclaimed Dividends
Search the SEC Portal
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) runs a free online portal where you can search for your name.
Go to: eportal.sec.gov.ng/non-mandated
Type your first name and last name exactly as it would have appeared when you bought the shares. Try variations — if your middle name was included, try with and without it. If you were using a maiden name, search that too.
If your name appears, the portal will show you:
- The company whose shares you hold
- The number of units
- The registrar managing those shares
- Your investor account number
If you find your name — congratulations. You have unclaimed dividends. Now move to Step 2.
If you don't see your name but you're sure you bought shares, you likely need a stockbroker to run a "global search" on your behalf. This happens when records are incomplete or the company has since merged or changed names.
Step 2: Note Your Registrar
The registrar is the company that manages shareholder records on behalf of the listed company. Your unclaimed dividends are held by your registrar — not directly by the company and not by the SEC.
When you find your name on the SEC portal, it will tell you which registrar is managing your shares. This is critical — you must contact the correct registrar to claim your money.
Here are Nigeria's major registrars and their contact details:
| Registrar | Notable Companies | Contact |
|---|---|---|
| Africa Prudential Plc | Access Holdings, UBA, Stanbic IBTC, Total Energies, Custodian Investment, UPDC | africaprudential.com info@africaprudential.com |
| Meristem Registrars | Seplat, BUA Foods, BUA Cement, Transcorp, Geregu Power, Sterling Bank | registrars.meristemng.com +234 (1) 8920491 |
| First Registrars | Dangote Cement, Lafarge Africa, FBN Holdings, Conoil, Okomu Oil | firstregistrarsnigeria.com 2 Abebe Village Road, Iganmu, Lagos |
| Coronation Registrars | MTN Nigeria, First HoldCo, Berger Paints | coronationregistrars.com (online search available) |
| DataMax Registrars | NGX Group, Africa Prudential, Vitafoam, Ecobank Transnational | datamax@datamaxregistrars.com 07064000751 |
| Veritas Registrars | Zenith Bank, Guinness Nigeria, May & Baker Nigeria | Via Zenith Bank branches |
| GTL Registrars | GTCO, several other listed companies | 2 Burma Road, Apapa, Lagos 01-8131925 |
| CardinalStone Registrars | Lafarge Africa, Flour Mills, others | cardinalstonepartners.com |
Step 3: Download and Fill Your Registrar's E-Mandate Form
The E-Mandate Form
Each registrar has their own e-mandate form. Once you've identified your registrar from the SEC portal, download the form from the registrar's website or request it directly from them.
The e-mandate form asks for:
- Your full name (as it appears on the share records)
- Your address
- Date of birth
- Bank Verification Number (BVN)
- Your preferred bank account number and bank name
- Your account opening date at your bank
- Your Clearing House Number (CHN) — your unique investor ID with CSCS
- Your investor account number (shown on the SEC portal)
- A passport photograph
- A copy of valid ID (National ID, Passport, or Driver's Licence)
What is the CHN?
Your Clearing House Number is the unique ID that identifies you as an investor in Nigeria's capital market. It's assigned by the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS). If you don't know yours, contact your stockbroker or CSCS directly — you can also access it through the CSCS investor portal at cscs.ng.
Step 4: Submit the Form
You have three submission options:
Option 1 — Submit directly to the registrar's office. Walk into the registrar's branch with your completed form and documents. Some registrars confirm payment within 1–4 days after verification. Coronation Registrars specifically advertises this timeline on their website.
Option 2 — Submit through your bank. Take the completed e-mandate form to any branch of your preferred bank. The bank will process it and send it through the NIBSS Electronic Mandate Management System to the registrar.
Option 3 — Submit through your stockbroker. If you have a stockbroker, they can submit the form on your behalf and also help if there are any issues with your records.
Step 5: Follow Up
After submission, follow up with the registrar after 5–7 business days to confirm your form has been received and is being processed. Ask for a reference number or confirmation email.
Once processed, all your outstanding unclaimed dividends will be credited directly to your bank account — and all future dividends from those shares will also be paid electronically to the same account going forward.
Special Situations
If the shareholder is deceased
You need to obtain legal authority to claim on their behalf. This means getting either a Probate (if there was a Will) or Letters of Administration (if there was no Will) from a Nigerian court. Once you have this, open an estate bank account, update the registrar's records with the legal documents, and the dividends will be paid to the estate account. A lawyer can guide you through this process.
If you have shares in a company that changed its name
Several major Nigerian companies have rebranded over the years — FBN Holdings from First Bank Group, GTCO from GTBank, Access Holdings from Access Bank, Berger Paints, and many others. Your shares are still valid under the new company name. The registrar can confirm this and help you update your records.
If your name appears with a wrong spelling
This is common — maiden names recorded differently, middle names missing or added, or simple spelling errors from when the shares were originally registered. Contact the registrar with supporting documents (birth certificate, affidavit of name change, marriage certificate if applicable) to regularise your records before claiming.
If you don't see your name but believe you have shares
Ask your stockbroker to run a global search using your CHN. If you don't have a CHN, a licensed stockbroker can help you create one and trace any shares registered under your name across all registrars.
What to Do After You Claim
Once your unclaimed dividends are paid and your e-mandate is active, future dividends from those shares will be paid automatically to your bank account. You don't need to do anything for subsequent payments.
However, it's good practice to:
- Keep your bank account details updated with your registrar if you ever change banks
- Check the SEC portal once a year to ensure nothing new has appeared under your name
- Ensure your shares are properly linked to your CSCS account so you can also sell them if you choose to
The Four Steps — Summary
- Search your name at eportal.sec.gov.ng/non-mandated
- Note your registrar — the company managing your shares
- Download and fill your registrar's e-mandate form
- Submit to the registrar directly, through your bank, or through your stockbroker
Check for unclaimed dividends now
Nigeria's SEC maintains a free public portal. It takes less than 5 minutes.
Search SEC Portal →Sources & References
- Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) Nigeria — Unclaimed Dividends Portal: eportal.sec.gov.ng
- Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) — Investor Portal: cscs.ng
- SEC Investor Protection Fund — Unclaimed Dividends Framework: sec.gov.ng
- NIBSS Electronic Mandate Management System (e-Mandate): nibss-plc.com.ng
- Coronation Registrars — Unclaimed Dividends Search: coronationregistrars.com
- Africa Prudential Plc — Registrar Services: africaprudential.com
- Meristem Registrars — E-dividend Registration: registrars.meristemng.com
- BusinessDay NG — "Over ₦190bn Unclaimed Dividends Sit Idle in Nigeria's Capital Market" (2025): businessday.ng
- The Punch — "How to Recover Unclaimed Dividends" (2025): punchng.com
- Proshare NG — Capital Market Guides: prosho.ng