*As 125 Million Unexplained Shares Appear On Registry While CAC Denies Manipulation And Blames Cyberattack
DAAR Communications Plc, the parent company of Africa Independent Television and RayPower FM, has insisted that its board has not approved any changes to the company’s shareholding structure, describing discrepancies currently reflected on the Corporate Affairs Commission’s portal as unauthorised alterations that do not align with the company’s own records, as the CAC denied manipulating the records and attributed portal irregularities to a recent cyberattack on its systems.
The dispute, which centres on the unexplained appearance of over 125 million additional shares attributed to DAAR Investment and Holding Company Limited on the CAC portal, has drawn in three regulatory bodies — the Nigerian Exchange Limited, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the CAC itself and has prompted DAAR’s chairman, Raymond Dokpesi Jr., to demand an immediate forensic investigation into what he described as “serious irregularities within the corporate registry system.”
In a notification sent to the NGX and signed by Company Secretary Jennifer Egbaran, DAAR Communications stated unequivocally that the portal discrepancies are not a reflection of any legitimate corporate action.
According to DAAR Communications, the company’s verified 2024 records show DAAR Investment and Holding Company Limited holding 4,890,523,000 shares, representing 61.13 per cent of the company’s total shareholding. This position, the company insists, has not changed through any board-approved process.
However, recent entries on the CAC portal reflect an increase in DIHL’s shareholding to 5,016,418,000 shares, an unexplained rise of over 125 million shares that appeared on the registry without any corresponding share transfer, acquisition, or board resolution to justify the adjustment.
“No changes to the Company’s shareholding structure have been approved by the Board or effected through the applicable statutory processes,” DAAR Communications stated.
“Any variance currently reflected on the CAC portal does not align with the Company’s records and remains subject to ongoing review and engagement with the relevant authorities,” the company added.
The company confirmed that all its filings with the CAC have been made “in accordance with applicable laws and regulatory requirements,” implying that whatever caused the discrepancy did not originate from the company’s own filings.
DAAR Communications disclosed that it had previously notified the NGX, the SEC, and the CAC of the discrepancies observed in its shareholding records on the CAC portal, establishing a formal trail of complaints across all three regulatory bodies with oversight of the company’s corporate governance and share registry.
“The Company had previously notified Nigerian Exchange Limited, the Securities and Exchange Commission, and the Corporate Affairs Commission of discrepancies observed in its shareholding records on the CAC portal,” the company stated.
The notification to the NGX is particularly significant because the NGX regulates the trading of DAAR Communications shares on the Nigerian stock exchange. Any unexplained change in the shareholding structure of a listed company could affect share prices, investor confidence, and the integrity of the market. Listed companies are required to disclose material changes in shareholding, and the appearance of 125 million unexplained shares on the registry raises questions about whether the market was trading on accurate information.
The Corporate Affairs Commission, for its part, denied allegations that it manipulated the records of DAAR Communications.
The commission described the allegations as “false and misleading,” insisting that “no company data was altered or compromised.” The CAC attributed any portal irregularities to a recent cyberattack on its system, suggesting that the discrepancies may have resulted from external interference rather than internal manipulation.
The commission stated it had “already taken steps to investigate the dispute in line with its statutory responsibilities.”
However, DAAR Communications has pushed back against the CAC’s characterisation, noting that the company “neither authorised nor contributed to” the publication referencing the CAC’s statements, and maintaining that the discrepancies are real and require forensic investigation regardless of their cause.
DAAR Communications further alleged that the CAC had “not adequately addressed its complaints despite petitions submitted since October 2025.”
If accurate, the allegation means the company first raised concerns about its shareholding records nearly seven months before the current public dispute, and that the CAC failed to resolve the issue during that period.
The seven-month gap between the initial complaint and the current escalation raises questions about the CAC’s responsiveness to complaints from companies whose records it maintains. As the statutory custodian of corporate registration data in Nigeria, the CAC’s records serve as the authoritative source for shareholding information relied upon by courts, regulators, investors, and the companies themselves. If those records can be altered without the knowledge or consent of the registered company, and complaints about such alterations go unresolved for months, the integrity of the entire corporate registry system is called into question.
The concerns were initially disclosed in a statement signed by DAAR’s Chairman, Raymond Dokpesi Jr., and reported by AIT on April 29, 2026.
Dokpesi demanded an “immediate forensic investigation” into what he described as “serious irregularities within the corporate registry system,” a demand that goes beyond the specific DAAR discrepancy to question the security and reliability of the CAC’s systems more broadly.
The demand for a forensic investigation, rather than a simple administrative correction, suggests DAAR believes the alteration was not a random glitch but a deliberate act that requires identification of the perpetrator, the method used, and the motive behind the change.
The CAC’s attribution of the discrepancy to a cyberattack creates a critical ambiguity. If external hackers accessed the CAC’s systems and altered DAAR’s shareholding records, the implications extend far beyond a single company.
The CAC maintains records for millions of registered companies in Nigeria. If its systems are vulnerable to cyberattacks that can alter shareholding data, any company’s records could potentially be compromised, creating uncertainty about the accuracy of corporate ownership information across the entire economy.
However, DAAR’s allegation that its complaints have gone unaddressed since October 2025, months before any publicly reported cyberattack, raises questions about whether the cyberattack explanation fully accounts for the discrepancies or whether other factors may be involved.
DAAR Communications sought to reassure shareholders and the public that the dispute has not affected its business operations.
“The Company’s operations remain stable and uninterrupted. All broadcast, commercial, and digital activities across its platforms continue to run efficiently with no impact arising from the issues referenced in the publication,” the company stated.
The reassurance is important for shareholders and advertisers who rely on the stability of DAAR’s operations, which include AIT, one of Nigeria’s largest private television networks, and RayPower FM, a national radio network.
DAAR Communications reaffirmed its commitment to corporate governance standards and regulatory compliance.
“The Company remains committed to the highest standards of corporate governance and continues to operate in compliance with the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA 2020), the Nigerian Code of Corporate Governance (NCCG), and all applicable regulatory requirements,” the company stated.
It advised shareholders and the investing public to “rely on the Company’s official disclosures and to exercise caution in interpreting third-party publications,” adding that “official information is disseminated through the NGX, the Company’s communication channels, and other approved regulatory platforms.”
The DAAR-CAC dispute raises fundamental questions about the security and reliability of Nigeria’s corporate registry.
For DAAR Communications specifically, the unexplained appearance of 125 million shares on the CAC portal could, if left unresolved, affect the company’s shareholding structure on paper, potentially enabling unauthorised claims to ownership or voting rights that the company’s board never approved.
For the broader business community, the dispute exposes the vulnerability of a system that companies, investors, courts, and regulators rely upon as the definitive record of corporate ownership in Nigeria. If the CAC’s records can be altered, whether through cyberattack, internal manipulation, or administrative error, without the knowledge of the affected company, the foundational trust that underpins corporate governance and investment is compromised.
For the CAC itself, the dispute tests whether the commission can maintain its credibility as the custodian of Nigeria’s corporate records at a time when questions about data integrity, cybersecurity, and institutional responsiveness are increasingly prominent in public discourse.
