Imagine waking up to find out that your parents or even your grandparents quietly bought shares in Nigerian companies decades ago, and those shares have been sitting untouched, quietly compounding value, waiting for someone in the family to claim them. Now imagine further: those parents may have passed on, or forgotten the investment entirely, but the money remains intact.
This is not fantasy. It is the current reality in Nigeria today, where, according to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), over ₦190 billion in unclaimed dividends is sitting idle, waiting to be claimed by rightful owners or their beneficiaries.
Thanks to a new online portal created by SEC Nigeria, it is now possible to search by name and uncover hidden investments that belong to you or your family. Whether the shareholder is alive or deceased, the system reveals unclaimed dividends that can then be reclaimed with the right process.
Portal: SEC Unregistered Investors for e-Dividend
Why So Much Money Was Left Unclaimed
To understand this phenomenon, you need to look back at how shares used to be bought in Nigeria.
- 1960s – 1997: Buying shares meant holding physical paper certificates. Dividends were paid out via posted cheques. Many families lost track of these certificates, moved houses, or passed away without sharing details.
- 1997: Electronic trading was introduced, alongside the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS), to reduce dependence on paper certificates.
- 2015: SEC made it compulsory for all investors to dematerialise their shares, meaning convert paper certificates into electronic records. The Nigerian Exchange (NGX) went fully electronic.
Yet, millions of investors never submitted their old certificates, leading to today’s massive pile of unclaimed dividends.
How to Check If You Have Unclaimed Dividends
The process has now been simplified.
- Visit the SEC Portal: sec.gov.ng/non-mandated/
- Enter the First and Last Name of your parent, relative, or yourself.
- Search Results will reveal if there are any shares or unclaimed dividends tied to that name.
On X (formerly Twitter), one user, @Obumnemetg, whose thread has since gone viral, explained the discovery:
Your parents could have shares and unclaimed dividends worth millions of naira that’s existing somewhere that they don’t remember. Just ran a search for a friend’s dad and found he has shares with over 3 million with Conoil since the 90s. Man doesn’t even remember anymore.”
Screenshots shared online show familiar Nigerian surnames appearing repeatedly across companies like Union Bank, Cadbury Nigeria, Conoil, and International Breweries.
Many young Nigerians have already searched and discovered that their parents quietly invested sums in the 80s and 90s, which today are worth millions.
What To Do If You Find Your Family Name
Finding your name or that of a late relative on the list is only the first step. Here’s what follows:
If You Have the Share Certificate: Take it to a licensed stockbroker. They will help you convert it into electronic form and process your dividends.
If the Certificate is Missing: Do not panic. Contact the Central Securities Clearing System (CSCS) or the relevant registrar (for example Apel Capital Registrars Ltd). They will guide you on the replacement process.
If the Investor is Deceased: The estate executor or surviving beneficiaries can process ownership transfer, provided they have legal documentation such as probate or letters of administration.
In essence, this money is not lost. It is simply waiting for someone with the right paperwork to unlock it.
Reclaiming Memory, Rebuilding Legacy
What the SEC portal represents is not just money. It is memory made tangible. It is proof that the quiet sacrifices of a parent, an uncle, or a grandmother did not disappear with them. Those long-forgotten dividend cheques and paper certificates are a reminder that they believed in a future beyond themselves.
Reclaiming these shares is more than financial gain. It is a way of honouring their vision, restoring family wealth that was almost lost to time, and stitching back a piece of Nigeria’s investment history into your own story.
The dividends are waiting, not just as numbers on a ledger, but as a bridge between generations.
