In what appeared to be an attempt to clampdown on #EndSARs promoters, the Corporate Affairs Commission has deregistered a company, Enough is Enough, in error.
The deregistered company, which was registered as a general-purpose firm, bears a similar name to a Civil Society Organisation, Enough is Enough Nigeria, which is actually registered as EiE Project Limited.
The CAC said in a series of tweets on Tuesday that Enough is Enough was deregistered for straying from its original purpose of registration.
The commission added that the company should immediately return its certificate of incorporation
It tweeted, “Based on the provisions of Section 579 (2) of the Companies and Allied Matters Act, the Corporate Affairs Commission has cancelled the registration of the business name ‘Enough is Enough BN 2210728’ with immediate effect.
“The above section provides amongst others that the commission has the power to cancel the registration of a Business Name where the name is deceptive or objectionable. The business name ‘Enough is Enough’ which was registered in 2012 to engage in general contracts, sales of sport equipment/promotion deviated from its main objectives over the course of time.
“Consequently, the commission has removed it from its database and advised the proprietors to surrender the certificate earlier issued to them.”
The announcement of the CAC was well received by many of the supporters of the President, Major General Muhammadu Buhari (retd.), on Twitter.
A social media aide to the President, Bashir Ahmad, quoted the CAC’s tweet which was praised by many of the President’s supporters.
But EiE later tweeted a photo of its Certificate of Incorporation which showed that it was appropriately registered by the CAC but only bore a similar name with the company which the commission had deregistered.
It tweeted, “Enough is Enough Nigeria aka EiE Nigeria aka EiE is registered as: The EiE Project Ltd/Gte”. A big thank you to those who have reached out & spoken up for us! A luta continua! Vitória é certa!”
The CAC’s gaffe quickly drew the attention of several Tweeps as they wondered why the Federal Government was taking action against #EndSARS protesters.
Blogger, Japhet Omojuwa, likened the incident to a stray bullet.
“Lol. Stray bullet don catch the wrong organisation. It’s sad though, that we have to fear for the existence of an organisation like EIE. Really just shows you size of the battle ahead for freedom in Nigeria,” Omojuwa tweeted.
A former Chairman of the National Human Rights Commission, Prof. Chidi Odinkalu, who is a known critic of the regime, said the CAC ought to know better.
“Surely you must know that #EnoughIsEnough is not a business name, though. This is deliberate disinformation. The organisation is duly registered with legal personality under CAMA 1990. A business name doesn’t confer legal personality and de-registration doesn’t happen on Twitter by the way.”
Earlier, EiE had condemned the freezing of accounts owned by #EndSARS protesters. It had tweeted, “The Nigerian government wants us, when faced with official actions with which we disagree, to obey and submit without daring to object.
“Case in view: seizure of passports, freezing of accounts by CBN, continued arrests of #EndSARS protesters, blame game, etc. #EnoughIsEnough.”
EiE, which defines itself as a network of young Nigerians promoting good governance and citizen engagement, has a large social media following with over 260,000 followers on Twitter alone.
