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By Chukwuma Umeorah
The Nigerian Exchange Regulation Limited (NGX RegCo) has imposed fines amounting to N133.4 million on 17 listed companies for failing to submit their audited and interim financial statements for 2024 and 2025.
The penalties, disclosed in the X-Compliance Report released on September 4, 2025, affected firms across the insurance, banking, oil and gas and industrial sectors, with insurance companies accounting for most of the defaults.
At the top of the list was Universal Insurance Plc, which received a combined sanction of N41.3 million for failing to submit its 2024 audited results on time and for delayed filings of its interim accounts for the first and second quarters of 2025. Jaiz Bank Plc followed closely with fines totalling N15.9 million, consisting of N9.6 million for its 2024 audited accounts and N6.3 million for its first quarter 2025 results.
Mutual Benefits Assurance Plc was fined N11 million for late filing of its 2024 audited statements and an additional N2.8 million for its Q1 2025 results, bringing its total penalties to N13.8 million.
Another significant defaulter on the list was Oando Plc, which was hit with a N7.9 million fine for its 2024 audited accounts and N5.5 million for its 2025 Q1 report, a combined figure of N13.4 million. Prestige Assurance Plc was also heavily fined, paying N5.1 million for its 2024 audited results and N7 million for delayed Q1 and Q2 2025 filings, bringing its total to N12.1 million.
Other companies sanctioned include Conoil Plc, which was fined N11.5 million for its 2024 audited accounts and Q1 2025 results; Cornerstone Insurance Plc, which paid N10.2 million; Linkage Assurance Plc, which was sanctioned N7 million; and Coronation Insurance Plc, fined N6.3 million. Sovereign Trust Insurance Plc attracted N4.4 million in fines for late 2024 and 2025 filings, while Royal Exchange Plc, AXA Mansard Plc, UPDC Plc, First HoldCo Plc, SCOA Nigeria Plc, TotalEnergies Marketing Nigeria Plc, and Presco Plc also appeared on the defaulters’ list with varying penalties.
The regulator stated that the fines were issued in line with the Rules for Filing of Accounts and Treatment of Default Filing, which require companies to submit audited financials within 90 days of the year-end and interim results within 30 days of each quarter. NGX RegCo stressed that “the penalties were designed to enforce compliance and maintain the integrity of the market,” warning that “persistent failure to disclose financials could attract further sanctions, including suspension of trading or outright delisting.”
Already, three companies namely Regency Alliance Insurance Plc, International Energy Insurance Plc, and Universal Insurance Plc were recently suspended from trading in September 2025 for failing to file their 2024 audited accounts within the regulatory stipulated period. Market operators note that the heavy sanctions underscored the regulator’s growing intolerance for late filings, particularly in the insurance sector where poor compliance has become recurrent. The National Coordinator, Progressive Shareholders Association, Boniface Okezie, maintained that it was welcome development, as it will lead to more appropriate pricing of securities while adding that quoted entities would be compelled to give information to the market on time.
According to him “it is better for Nigerians to have a few companies that are ready to play by the rules than to have all the companies in the world that are not ready to satisfy post-listing requirements. Others warn that persistent defaults could undermine investor confidence and slow the drive to deepen the Nigerian capital market.
In its report, NGX RegCo reiterated that it will continue to publish weekly compliance updates, saying: “The sanctions are not punitive but necessary to enforce timely disclosure, protect investors and safeguard the integrity of the Nigerian capital market.”
