Court orders CAC to restore NYCN registration, dissolves interim management committee

From Godwin Tsa, Abuja

A Federal High Court in Abuja has ordered the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) to restore the registration of the National Youth Council of Nigeria (NYCN) and reinstate Ambassador Sukubo Sara-Igbe Sukubo and other members of its Board of Trustees.

Justice Binta Nyako, who delivered judgment on Friday, also declared the Interim Management Committee appointed by the CAC and the Ministry of Youth Development to oversee the council as unlawful, directing its immediate dissolution.

The court held that the CAC, as a regulatory agency, lacks the statutory powers to determine the tenure of an organisation’s leaders or constitute an Interim Management Committee for any registered association.

The dispute traces back to October 6, 2025, when the CAC withdrew the NYCN’s certificate of registration, which had originally been issued on October 28, 2020. A day later, the Commission and the Ministry of Youth Development constituted a nine-member Interim Management Committee led by Buhari Shehu to oversee the council’s affairs.

Sukubo, who serves as NYCN President and Secretary of the Board of Trustees, subsequently filed Suit No. FHC/ABJ/CS/2142/2025, challenging the constitutional validity of the CAC’s actions.

The suit questioned whether provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020 empowering the CAC to suspend trustees and appoint interim managers were consistent with Sections 39, 40, and 251 of the Constitution, which guarantee freedom of association and vest jurisdiction in the Federal High Court for such disputes.

In her judgment, Justice Nyako held that while the CAC possesses regulatory powers over incorporated trustees, those powers do not extend to displacing existing leadership structures, particularly where related disputes are already before the courts.

“The powers conferred on the Corporate Affairs Commission under CAMA are regulatory in nature. These powers, however, cannot be exercised in a manner that effectively determines a live dispute already awaiting judicial determination,” she stated.