Reported by: Ijeoma G | Edited by: Oravbiere Osayomore Promise.
The Federal High Court in Abuja has fixed September 21, 2026, for the hearing of a petition seeking the formal winding up of NICON Insurance Limited, one of Nigeria's largest insurance companies, following the cancellation of its operating licence by the National Insurance Commission. Justice Chigozie Sergius Onah, who fixed the date, also granted an order to preserve all assets, properties, investments, and bank accounts of the embattled firm pending the hearing and determination of the winding-up petition.
The petition, marked FHC/ABJ/PET/18/2026, was filed on August 12, 2026, by the Receiver/Provisional Liquidator of NICON Insurance Limited, Mr. Chukwuma-Machukwu Ume, SAN. The court granted leave for the petition to be heard during its ongoing annual vacation, allowing the proceedings to move forward without delay. Ume was appointed Receiver/Provisional Liquidator by NAICOM on August 4, 2026, following the regulator's cancellation of NICON's certificate of registration on August 3. The regulatory action was triggered by NICON's failure, refusal, or inability to meet the new minimum capital requirements prescribed by NAICOM under the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act (NIIRA), 2025.
Ume told the court that the cancellation of the licence had removed the statutory basis for NICON to continue operating as an insurance company. He argued that the winding-up was not founded merely on an allegation of insolvency but on the statutory consequences of operating without a valid licence. The petition states that NICON has hundreds of thousands of policyholders, while its creditors include banks, vendors, and contractors with liabilities running into hundreds of billions of naira. Ume is urging the court to place the company's affairs under statutory winding-up to ensure that its assets are collected, realised, and distributed according to legal priorities.
The Receiver/Liquidator is also asking the court to confirm his appointment as liquidator and to order NICON's directors, officers, and agents to surrender the company's books, records, assets, and other information required by law. He further wants the court to direct that statutory priorities applicable to failed insurance operators under the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act be observed in settling and distributing the company's estate. The petition relies on Sections 110 and 111 of NIIRA, 2025, as well as relevant provisions of the Companies and Allied Matters Act (CAMA), 2020.
NAICOM's decision to revoke NICON's licence was based on the company's failure to meet the prescribed minimum capital requirement within the stipulated compliance period. Under the terms of the receiver's appointment, he is required to trace, recover, secure, and take over the assets of NICON Insurance, expedite the transfer of the company's life insurance portfolio to another life insurer, and collate and settle the company's liabilities in accordance with the law. The Receiver has since placed public notices in national dailies informing stakeholders, banks, financial institutions, and the general public about the ongoing liquidation proceedings.
Justice Onah's order to preserve NICON's assets is a critical step to prevent the dissipation of the company's resources. The court specifically restrained any dealing with the company's assets that would be inconsistent with the statutory functions of the Receiver/Provisional Liquidator or prejudicial to the interests of policyholders, creditors, and other stakeholders. The winding-up petition is the culmination of a long regulatory process that has seen NICON Insurance struggle to meet capital requirements since the introduction of the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act in 2025. The company had previously rejected NAICOM's licence revocation, calling the recapitalisation exercise "fake and fraudulent" and insisting that the dispute was before the court.
As NICON Insurance faces its final reckoning, the hearing on September 21 will be closely watched by policyholders, creditors, and industry stakeholders. The outcome will determine the fate of hundreds of thousands of policyholders and billions of naira in claims and liabilities. The Receiver/Liquidator has also directed persons and entities with claims against NICON Insurance to submit documentary evidence and particulars of their claims in line with the applicable liquidation procedure. As the legal battle reaches its peak, the people of Nigeria and the wider insurance industry await the court's decision with bated breath.
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