The CAC has ordered KPMG Advisory Services to rename itself within six weeks to avoid confusion with KPMG Nigeria.
Following the July 10, 2025 judgment of the Court of Appeal in Lagos, which nullified the registration of KPMG Professional Services, the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has directed a company operating under the name KPMG Advisory Services to change its name within six weeks to avoid confusion with KPMG Nigeria, a leading professional services firm.
The directive contained in a letter dated September 19, 2025, and signed on behalf of the Registrar-General by Chidimma Laureen Nwite, stated the business name KPMG Advisory Services (BN 2145583), registered on October 11, 2010, was mistakenly approved despite the prior registration of KPMG Nigeria.
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The CAC said the order was issued pursuant to Section 30(1) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020, which prohibits the registration of names that are identical or confusingly similar to existing entities.
It warned that failure to comply within the stipulated period would trigger enforcement action.
A copy of the letter was also sent to the law firm Idowu Sofola & Co. for record purposes.
This development follows the July 10, 2025, judgment of the Court of Appeal in Lagos, which nullified the CAC’s registration of KPMG Professional Services after a two-decade legal battle.
In a unanimous decision delivered by Justice Abdullahi Mahmud Bayero, the appellate court granted all four reliefs sought by KPMG Nigeria against the CAC (first Respondent) and KPMG Professional Services (second Respondent).
The court held that the registration of the second Respondent’s name was improper and misleading under Section 662(1)(d) of CAMA 1990, now Section 852 of CAMA 2020.
The dispute dates back to 2002 when KPMG Nigeria filed an originating summons challenging the registration of KPMG Professional Services, arguing that the name was deceptively similar and could mislead the public.
Although the Federal High Court dismissed the suit in 2005 – holding that an alleged merger between KPMG Nigeria and Akintola Williams Deloitte meant the plaintiff had lost its rights to the name – the Court of Appeal overturned that decision.
Justice Bayero ruled there was no legally binding merger agreement and described the evidence relied upon by the lower court (including newspaper articles) as inadequate.
He emphasised that KPMG Nigeria had historical precedence, having registered KPMG Audit (1969), KPMG Tax Consultants (1990), and KPMG Consulting long before the disputed name was approved.
The court further criticised the CAC for allowing a conflicting name to remain on the register, holding that “one cannot give what one does not have — nemo dat quod non habet.”
The appellate court ordered the CAC to strike KPMG Professional Services from its register, cancel its certificate of registration, and issue a perpetual injunction restraining it from using the name.
It also directed an inquiry into damages for profits earned under the disputed name.
This judgment reaffirmed the statutory protection of existing business names under Nigerian corporate law and underscored the CAC’s duty to prevent the registration of confusingly similar names.
The directive, contained in a letter dated September 19, 2025, and signed on behalf of the Registrar-General by Chidimma Laureen Nwite, stated that the business name KPMG Advisory Services (BN 2145583), registered on October 11, 2010, was mistakenly approved despite the prior registration of KPMG Nigeria.
The CAC said the order was issued pursuant to Section 30(1) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020, which prohibits the registration of names that are identical or confusingly similar to existing entities.
It warned that failure to comply within the stipulated period would trigger enforcement action.
A copy of the letter was also sent to the law firm Idowu Sofola & Co. for record purposes.
This development follows the July 10, 2025, judgment of the Court of Appeal in Lagos, which nullified the CAC’s registration of KPMG Professional Services after a two-decade legal battle.
In a unanimous decision delivered by Justice Abdullahi Mahmud Bayero, the appellate court granted all four reliefs sought by KPMG Nigeria against the CAC (first Respondent) and KPMG Professional Services (second Respondent).
The court held that the registration of the second Respondent’s name was improper and misleading under Section 662(1)(d) of CAMA 1990, now Section 852 of CAMA 2020.
The dispute dates back to 2002 when KPMG Nigeria filed an originating summons challenging the registration of KPMG Professional Services, arguing that the name was deceptively similar and could mislead the public.
Although the Federal High Court dismissed the suit in 2005 — holding that an alleged merger between KPMG Nigeria and Akintola Williams Deloitte meant the plaintiff had lost its rights to the name — the Court of Appeal overturned that decision.
Justice Bayero ruled that there was no legally binding merger agreement and described the evidence relied upon by the lower court (including newspaper articles) as inadequate.
He emphasised that KPMG Nigeria had historical precedence, having registered KPMG Audit (1969), KPMG Tax Consultants (1990), andKPMG Consulting long before the disputed name was approved.
The appellate court ordered the CAC to strike KPMG Professional Services from its register, cancel its certificate of registration, and issue a perpetual injunction restraining it from using the name.
It also directed an inquiry into damages for profits earned under the disputed name.
This judgment reaffirmed the statutory protection of existing business names under Nigerian corporate law and underscored the CAC’s duty to prevent the registration of confusingly similar names.