CAC uncovers 189 fake companies in Abuja, arrests two suspects

The Corporate Affairs Commission has uncovered 189 fake companies used to secure land allocations in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.

The Registrar General of the commission, Hussaini Magaji, said this during a press briefing on Tuesday.

Magaji stated that the discovery was made following a complaint from the Federal Capital Territory Administration to verify the status of a non-existing company seeking land allocation.

He explained that the discovery of the non-existent company led CAC to investigate further, resulting in the identification of other companies.

He added that two suspects, including a lawyer, had been apprehended and a cartel involving persons claiming to be staff of Abuja Geographical Information System, other lawyers have been identified.

He said, “This cartel creates companies through collaboration with some lawyers claiming to be accredited agents of the commission and staff of Abuja Geographical Information System to secure land allocations in the FCT and we only knew this crime after a complaint from the Federal Capital Territory Administration asking us to verify some applications made by some entities, which turned out to be non-existent on our system.

“With the information available to us, I gave a directive on the issue and we have so far identified 189 fake companies used to secure land allocation in the FCT. We have also facilitated the arrest of two suspects.”

Speaking on the vision of the commission, the registrar-general promised to increase the commission’s revenue base by sanctioning companies who fail to disclose their annual returns amongst other penalties.