Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has directed a firm operating as KPMG Advisory Services to change its name within six weeks over a trademark conflict with KPMG Nigeria, a leading professional services firm headquartered in Lagos.
In a letter dated September 19, 2025, and signed on behalf of Chidimma Laureen Nwite, registrar-general by the CAC stated that the business name KPMG Advisory Services (BN 2145583), registered on October 11, 2010, was erroneously approved despite the prior registration of KPMG Nigeria.
Citing Section 30(1) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020, which prohibits names identical or confusingly similar to existing entities, the Commission warned that failure to comply within the stipulated period would trigger enforcement measures. A copy of the letter was also forwarded to the law firm Idowu Sofola & Co. for record purposes.
The directive comes months after the Court of Appeal, Lagos Division, on July 10, 2025, nullified CAC’s registration of KPMG Professional Services after a protracted legal battle spanning over 20 years.
Justice Abdullahi Mahmud Bayero, who delivered the unanimous decision, held that the registration of the disputed name was improper and misleading under Section 662(1)(d) of CAMA 1990 (now Section 852 of CAMA 2020).
The court granted all four reliefs sought by KPMG Nigeria against the CAC and KPMG Professional Services, ruling that only KPMG Nigeria retains the statutory rights to the name.
The dispute began in 2002 when KPMG Nigeria, which includes audit, tax, and consulting divisions, challenged the CAC’s registration of a new entity under a similar name.
While the Federal High Court dismissed the suit in 2005 on the grounds of an alleged merger with Akintola Williams Deloitte, the Court of Appeal overturned that ruling, describing the supposed merger as unsubstantiated.
Justice Bayero stressed that newspaper articles and weak evidence could not replace a valid merger agreement, affirming that KPMG Nigeria never relinquished its rights to the name.
The court further criticised the CAC for breaching its duty by registering a confusingly similar name, stating:
“The Registrar cannot assign a business name already held by another entity. One cannot give what one does not have — nemo dat quod non habet.”
The appellate court ordered the immediate removal of KPMG Professional Services from the register, cancellation of its certificate, and a perpetual injunction restraining it from conducting business under the disputed name.
It also directed an inquiry into damages relating to profits earned under the invalid registration.
The judgment reaffirmed the primacy of protecting established corporate identities in Nigeria’s business landscape.
