The Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) dismissed a claim that it registered a group “Wickedness Association of Nigeria, Lokoja Chapter” as a business name.

The commission in a statement on Monday, January 9, 2023, said a certificate going viral on social media had claimed that it registered the group as a business name on December 24, 2022.

The commission described the certificate as “false, fake and a forgery”, saying the name and object of the ‘association’ offend the provisions of section 852 (1)(c) in that they are undesirable, offensive and contrary to public policy.

It also said the officer who was said to have signed the certificate had retired from the service of the commission long before the date the certificate was purportedly issued.

“Our attention has been drawn to a certificate of registration making the rounds in the social media and claiming that the commission registered the Wickedness Association of Nigeria Lokoja Chapter,” the notice reads.

“The certificate claimed that the ‘association’ was registered as a business name on December 24, 2022, with the registration number BN 74101

“We wish to categorically state that the purported certificate of registration of ‘wickedness association of Nigeria Lokoja branch’ was not and could not have been issued by the commission for the following reasons:

“The commission does not register associations as business names. The name and object of the ‘association’ offend the provisions of section 852 (1)(c) in that they are undesirable, offensive and contrary to public policy.

“The officer who purportedly signed the certificate had retired from the service of the commission long before the date the certificate was purportedly issued.” The CAC called on Nigerians to ignore the ‘certificate’ as it did not emanate from its office.

“Accordingly, the general public is hereby informed that the purported certificate of registration of ‘wickedness association of Nigeria Lokoja branch’ is false, fake and a forgery. It is wicked and fraudulent.”