CAC says defaulting lawyers to face 2 years imprisonment for filing false documents

The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has announced that any accredited lawyer found culpable for filing a false document in the course of company registration will be liable to 2 years imprisonment.

The new directive follows the relaxation of the strict requirements of the past where its officers need to compare signatures and looked at other documents to validate new filling.

According to a report from the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), this disclosure was made by the Registrar-General of the Commission, Alhaji Garba Abubakar, at a forum with the Commerce and Industry Correspondents Association of Nigeria (CICAN) on Friday in Abuja.

What the Registrar General of CAC is saying

Abubakar in his statement said that once a document is submitted by accredited lawyers or certified secretaries (customers) on behalf of a company, the commission presumes that those documents are regular and the person that submitted has the authority to act in that capacity.

He said,

• “If anybody makes any mistake or false declaration or submit any information that is false, that person will be liable to two years imprisonment upon conviction. We advise our customers to ensure they have proper authority to make filings on behalf of companies that engage them. If there is any wrong information or any misstatement in the document submitted, they will be held responsible.’’

Abubakar also pointed out that, as part of new regulations to support the new Companies and Allied Matters Act 2020, (CAMA), the new system has placed a lot of responsibilities on the persons submitting documents on behalf of the companies.

What you should know

• In a bid to improve on the ease of doing business, attract investment and ensure economic growth, President Muhammadu Buhari signed into law the CAMA 2020 in August 2020, to replace the CAMA 1990.
• It should be noted that the new CAMA 2020 is not an amendment of the old act but rather a re-enactment.
• The Minister for Industry, Trade and Investment, Adeniyi Adebayo, approved a draft regulation to support the implementation of the new CAMA in December 2020.
• Also, CAC had given registered companies until April 1 to revalidate their various information and accounts or face sanctions.