Welcome to the Beneficial Ownership Register for extractive companies covered under the audit reports of the Nigeria Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (NEITI).

This register has been put together as part of Nigeria's commitments to more transparent and more accountable governance of the extractive sector and beyond. Specifically, this register is in line with Requirement 2.5 of the 2019 EITI Standard, which stipulates that by 1st January 2020 all EITI-implementing countries (which includes Nigeria) are expected to “maintain a publicly available register of the beneficial owners of the corporate entity (ies) that bid for, operate or invest in extractive assets, including the identity (ies) of their beneficial owner(s), the level of ownership and details of how ownership or control is exerted”.

This register also aligns with the Country Statement by President Muhammadu Buhari at the 12th May 2016 London Anti-Corruption Summit where Nigeria committed to establishing a public beneficial ownership registry of all companies operating in the country. This presidential commitment was further encapsulated in Nigeria's National Action Plan for the Open Government Partnerships (OGP).

Knowing the real human beings who own, benefit from and exercise control over extractive assets clearly advances the frontiers of transparency in this strategic sector. Additionally, beneficial ownership disclosure can help in limiting corrupt practices and abuse of office, improving government revenues, citizen welfare and national security, and in leveling the playing field and reducing reputational risks for businesses.

Hidden ownership of extractive assets is not always illegal and not always designed for sinister purposes. But more often than not, anonymous ownership masks abuse of office and conflict of interests and enables tax evasion, illicit financial flows, money laundering, drug and terrorism financing.

This register is designed to insulate the country, its citizens and the legitimate businesses operating in the extractive sector from the hazards of corporate anonymity. Entries in the register are from the beneficial ownership templates used for NEITI's industry audit reports over time.

The register is searchable by companies, assets and individual names. It will be continuously updated as more information becomes available. Eventually, this register will feed into the more expansive beneficial ownership registers for the oil and gas sector, the mining sector, and for all companies in Nigeria being spearheaded respectively by the Department for Petroleum Resource (DPR) the Mining Cadaster Office (MCO) and the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC).