Power of Attorney for Nigerian Shares: Managing Them From Abroad

If you live abroad and want someone in Nigeria to deal with your shares, a power of attorney appoints them to act for you. For it to be accepted, it is usually signed before a notary where you live and then authenticated for use in Nigeria, and each broker or registrar must agree to act on it. It ends when you die, so it is a tool for your lifetime, not for your estate.

What a Power of Attorney Does

You, the donor, give another person, the attorney or donee, authority to act in your name. A general power lets the attorney do a wide range of things on your behalf; a specific power covers only the matters it names. For shares, a specific power that names the holdings and the acts allowed is easier for a broker or registrar to check, and limits what can go wrong.

What It Can and Cannot Do

Within the powers the document gives, an attorney can typically:

• Give a broker instructions on your account.
• Write to registrars, request statements and confirmations, and sign the forms the power covers.
• Handle paperwork that has to be done in Nigeria, such as dematerialising old certificates or collecting documents.

The limits matter as much:

• It cannot do anything the document does not say. Brokers and registrars read the wording closely.
• It ends on your death. From then on the shares are part of your estate, and only an executor or administrator with a grant of probate or letters of administration can deal with them.
• It is generally revoked by the donor's mental incapacity or bankruptcy as well. Families who set one up as a safeguard for old age are often caught out by this; ask your lawyer what the position would be for you.
• It does not change who owns the shares. They stay in your name, in your CSCS account, and under direct cash settlement the proceeds of a sale are paid into the shareholder's own bank account.

Signing It Abroad: Notarisation and Legalisation

Nigeria is not a party to the Hague Apostille Convention, so an apostille on its own does not complete the process for a document going to Nigeria. The usual sequence is:

1. Sign the power before a notary public in the country where you live.
2. Have the document authenticated by that country's competent authority. In the United Kingdom, that is the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.
3. Have it legalised by the Nigerian embassy, high commission or consulate for that country. Each mission sets its own fees, forms and timings.

Practice varies. Some notaries take the view that a document notarised abroad is accepted in Nigeria without further legalisation, under Nigerian evidence law. What counts is what the broker or registrar you will hand it to will accept, so ask them before you sign, and ask the Nigerian mission for its current requirements.

Stamp Duty

Under the Nigeria Tax Act 2025, stamp duty is charged on instruments first executed in Nigeria, and on instruments executed outside Nigeria that relate to property in Nigeria or anything done in Nigeria. A chargeable instrument that has not been stamped cannot be relied on as evidence in court. Whether duty applies to your power of attorney, how much, and how it is stamped once it arrives, is for your lawyer to confirm.

What Brokers and Registrars Ask For

Each broker and each registrar sets its own requirements, and acceptance by one does not bind another. Expect to be asked for:

• The original or a certified copy of the power, authenticated as described above.
• Identification for you and for the attorney. Anti-money laundering rules for brokers require them to verify the identity of anyone who controls an account, including the people who regularly give its instructions.
• The attorney's specimen signature.
• Where the power is some years old, confirmation that it is still in force.

Ask each one specifically whether it will accept a change of bank details from an attorney. The bank account on your records is where dividends and sale proceeds go, so that is where the risk sits.

Choosing the Attorney and Limiting the Risk

• Choose someone you would trust with the money itself, because in practice that is what you are doing.
• Keep the scope narrow: name the holdings, the acts allowed, and anything expressly excluded.
• Consider giving the power an end date, and renewing it if you still need it.
• Ask for copies of every instruction and every item of correspondence, and check your CSCS statement yourself.
• If you revoke the power, do it in writing in the form your lawyer advises, and tell every broker and registrar who holds a copy.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can my attorney use the power after I die?

No. The power ends on death. The shares then pass through your estate, and the registrar deals with the executor or administrator named in the grant.

Is an apostille enough for a document going to Nigeria?

Not on its own, because Nigeria is not a party to the Apostille Convention. Legalisation by the Nigerian mission is usually the final step. Ask the broker or registrar what it will accept before you start.

Do I need a power of attorney just to buy or sell from abroad?

Often not. Most brokers take instructions online or in an app directly from the account holder. A power of attorney helps when paperwork has to be signed and handled in Nigeria on your behalf.

Does my attorney need a CSCS account of their own?

No. The shares stay in your CSCS account, in your name. The attorney acts on your account, within the powers you gave.