NICON, NIGERIA RE RENEW CALL FOR EFCC PROBE INTO NAICOM RECAPITALISATION EXERCISE

NICON Insurance Plc and Nigeria Reinsurance Corporation have renewed their call for the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission to investigate alleged financial irregularities surrounding the National Insurance Commission’s recent insurance industry recapitalisation exercise. The two companies said their petition to the anti-graft agency concerns alleged criminal and financial accountability issues, rather than simply a disagreement between insurers and their regulator.

The companies made the demand in a joint response to NAICOM’s September 10 rejoinder, which had rejected allegations of wrongdoing in the recapitalisation process. NICON and Nigeria Re said the commission’s response failed to adequately address specific concerns raised in their petition, including the alleged demand for a one per cent charge on shareholders’ funds, the handling of money collected during the exercise and other financial requirements imposed on insurance operators.

The dispute has been ongoing since the implementation of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act 2025, which introduced higher minimum capital requirements for insurance and reinsurance companies. NICON and Nigeria Re have challenged NAICOM’s demand for a one per cent Capital Injection Fee as well as additional processing and verification charges. The companies were assessed ₦305 million and ₦375 million respectively, bringing the disputed fees to ₦680 million.

The two firms have also opposed NAICOM’s directive requiring existing operators to transfer their entire fresh capital injections into an escrow account with the Central Bank of Nigeria. They argued that the requirement goes beyond Section 16(3) of the NIIRA 2025, which provides for a 10 per cent statutory deposit. NICON and Nigeria Re maintained that they met the July 31 recapitalisation deadline after injecting ₦20 billion and ₦30 billion respectively through Mudaraba Term Deposit accounts with Lotus Bank, while also making statutory deposits with the CBN.

The renewed request for an EFCC investigation comes amid an increasingly bitter dispute between the companies and NAICOM, with the regulator maintaining that the disputed requirements were contained in guidelines issued earlier and had been complied with by other recapitalised operators. The Finance Ministry had earlier directed NAICOM to provide legal justification for the disputed charges and suspend enforcement against the two companies pending determination of their petition, while the latest demand puts renewed focus on the transparency and management of funds raised during the insurance sector recapitalisation exercise.