REPRU Asset Sale Begins After NAICOM Cancels Licence

Royal Exchange Prudential Life Plc has entered the asset liquidation stage after the National Insurance Commission cancelled its operating licence. The Receiver and Provisional Liquidator has opened a bidding process for the company's assets, with prospective buyers given until October 9, 2026, to submit bids.

NAICOM cancelled REPRU's certificate of registration effective August 3, 2026. The regulator acted after the insurer failed to meet the new minimum capital requirement under the Nigerian Insurance Industry Reform Act 2025. The law required insurers and reinsurers to meet revised capital thresholds by July 31, 2026, as part of the industry recapitalisation exercise. REPRU was among the companies that failed to meet the deadline.

Titilayo Akinlawon Leads Winding-Up

NAICOM appointed Titilayo Akinlawon, SAN, as Receiver and Provisional Liquidator. Akinlawon is responsible for taking control of REPRU's affairs, managing its assets and liabilities, and overseeing the formal liquidation process. The auction notice invites interested parties to bid for various categories of REPRU's assets. The notice also sets out the conditions applicable to the sale.

Funds generated from the sales are expected to contribute towards settling the company's outstanding obligations to policyholders, creditors and other stakeholders. The proceeds will form part of the funds available for addressing REPRU's outstanding obligations as the liquidation continues. Policyholders and creditors with outstanding claims are expected to monitor the asset-realisation process.

REPRU Is Separate From Royal Exchange Plc

The development involving REPRU is separate from Royal Exchange Plc. Royal Exchange Plc had divested its interest in the life insurance subsidiary before the latest industry-wide recapitalisation exercise. The auction relates to REPRU's assets as part of its liquidation and does not constitute a sale of the broader Royal Exchange group.

NICON Winding-Up Petition Also Fixed

Separately, the Federal High Court in Abuja has scheduled September 21, 2026, as the date for hearing a petition to wind up NICON Insurance Limited. The date was fixed weeks after Nigeria's insurance regulator revoked the company's operating licence. Justice Chigozie Sergius Onah fixed the date after the winding-up petition, marked FHC/AB3/PET/18/2026, was filed on August 12, 2026, by Chukwuma-Machukwu Ume, SAN. Ume was appointed Receiver and Provisional Liquidator of NICON following NAICOM's decision on August 3 to cancel the firm's Certificate of Registration, RIC-049.

What It Means

The asset sale is a key step in winding up REPRU and may affect how quickly policyholders and creditors recover claims. For the insurance sector, the case underscores the consequences of missing the NIRA 2025 recapitalisation deadline, which has already forced regulatory action against insurers that could not meet the new capital thresholds.