A company registered as KPMG Advisory Services has been given six weeks to change its name following a directive from the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), which cited trademark similarities with the established professional services firm KPMG Nigeria.
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The CAC acknowledged in its September 19, 2025, letter that the business name KPMG Advisory Services (BN 2145583) was “mistakenly approved” when it was registered on October 11, 2010, despite KPMG Nigeria’s prior registration.
The directive, signed on behalf of the Registrar General by Chidimma Laureen Nwite, invoked Section 30(1) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA) 2020, which prohibits registration of names that are identical or confusingly similar to existing entities.
The Commission warned that failure to comply within the stipulated timeframe would result in necessary enforcement action. A copy of the letter was also forwarded to law firm Idowu Sofola & Co. for record purposes.
The CAC’s action follows the Lagos Division of the Court of Appeal’s July 10, 2025, ruling that nullified the registration of another similar entity, “KPMG Professional Services,” after a legal battle spanning over two decades.
Justice Abdullahi Mahmud Bayero delivered a unanimous decision in support of KPMG Nigeria, marking a victory in protecting corporate brand identity. The court granted all four reliefs sought by KPMG Nigeria against both the CAC and KPMG Professional Services.
The appellate court determined that the registration of KPMG Professional Services was improper and misleading under Section 662(1)(d) of CAMA 1990, now updated to Section 852 of CAMA 2020, which prohibits registration of names that are identical or deceptively similar to existing ones.
The legal dispute originated in 2002 when KPMG Nigeria filed an originating summons challenging the CAC’s decision to register the similarly named entity. KPMG Nigeria argued the new registration was deceptively similar and could mislead the public.
The Federal High Court in Lagos had initially dismissed the suit in 2005, arguing that an alleged merger between KPMG Nigeria and Akintola Williams Deloitte meant the plaintiff could no longer assert rights to the KPMG name. The court also upheld a counterclaim, ordering KPMG Nigeria’s name to be struck from the register.
However, the Court of Appeal classified evidence of the merger as inadequate and unsubstantiated. Justice Bayero noted that the lower court’s conclusion was based solely on newspaper articles and insufficient proof of a legal merger.
The appellate court highlighted KPMG Nigeria’s historical precedence, noting it was the first to register its business entities, including KPMG Audit (1969), KPMG Tax Consultants (1990), and KPMG Consulting.
Justice Bayero stated in the judgement: “Only a merger agreement can determine the nature and scope of the purported merger.” What exists here, at best, is a functional collaboration or partial merger of only one component, KMPG Audit, and even that is not proven by binding legal documents.”
The Court of Appeal issued several orders: declaring that KMPG Professional Services was not entitled to registration under that name, directing the CAC to remove the respondent from its register and cancel the issued certificate, and issuing a perpetual injunction restraining the entity from conducting business using the contested name.
The court also directed an inquiry into damages relating to profits earned under the disputed name and dismissed the counterclaim entirely.
The court criticised the CAC for acting contrary to CAMA by allowing a similar name to be registered without removing earlier existing names from the registry. “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 court held.
The Court of Appeal’s decision reversed the Federal High Court’s earlier ruling in Suit No. FHC/L/CS/776/2002 and reaffirmed the primacy of statutory protection for existing business names under Nigerian corporate law.
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