Many Nigerians have raised an alarm over the approval of ‘BokoHaram Training Hub’, ‘Nigeria Must Scatter’, and others as business names by the Corporate Affairs Commission’s (CAC) new AI-powered registration portal, accusing it of prioritising speed and automation at the expense of efficiency, accuracy, and security.
On July 1, 2025, the CAC launched a new artificial intelligence-powered registration portal called Intelligent Company Registration Portal (ICRP) 3.0 that promises to incorporate businesses within 30 minutes.
According to the commission, the decision was taken in order to ease the process of formalising businesses in Nigeria, especially for startups and small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
It stated that the system utilises artificial intelligence to automate critical steps, including name reservation, documentation checks, and data validation, adding that by eliminating the traditional manual review process, it can significantly reduce the time it takes to incorporate a business.
However, while the idea of automation is widely welcomed, many users argue that the new system lacks the human judgment necessary to prevent misuse.
Sources revealed that the system recently approved the registration of business names like “Boko Haram Training Hub”, “Explosives Making Enterprises”, and Nigeria Must Scatter Enterprises – that experienced CAC officers would normally reject immediately.
This development has raised serious concerns about the risks of prioritising automation over essential oversight in critical government processes.
Manir Faisal, a lawyer, who is also a CAC Accredited Agent, took to his Facebook page on Wednesday, July 9, 2025, to share his experience using the CAC’s iCRP 3.0.
He said using the new portal showed that the commission seemingly prioritised speed and automation over efficiency, accuracy, and reliability instead of focusing on what is truly needed, which is a workable, efficient, and user-friendly interface, whether AI-powered or not.
He explained that while the previous platform, CRP 2.0, had its flaws, it was at least manageable.
Faisal said, “Unfortunately, rather than perfecting that system, it was replaced with a new platform, the so-called “intelligent” company registration system (iCRP 3.0), which has proven to be unintelligent, inaccurate, and highly inefficient in its current form.
“The rush to automate and digitize core functions, especially name reservation, has severely disrupted a system that many users had gradually adapted to. As a result, the system now allows clearly inappropriate or even dangerous names to be reserved, names that no responsible human approving officer would ordinarily approve.”
He further shared names that have recently passed through the iCRP 3.0 name reservation system without a flag or restriction, which include: Bandits Food Supply, BokoHaram Training Hub, Nuclear Proliferation Services, Explosives Making Enterprises, and Nigeria Must Scatter Enterprises.
The accredited agent urged the CAC to reintroduce human oversight, refine the AI’s logic, engage with users for feedback, and ensure any automation aligns with national security and ethical standards.
Ahmad Aminu Ahmad, reacting under the post said; “I talk this, Dan uwa this AI needs more training to learn how to make these judgements in approving names especially looking at section 30(1) of CAMA that outline the prohibited names, identical names is normal and easy it can do that, but similar, misleading, undesirable, offensive and names that are contrary to public policy, AI will find it very difficult to address that, and how can AI treat the famous case of Niger Chemists V Nigeria Chemists.
“Now you see this issue, Boko Haram to AI is just B O K O H A R A M, it doesn’t care, so the AI needs to be trained well with more Data, to avoid all these, even in that case…”
Abdullahi Jalo, another user sharing his experience, said, “I cannot access my account up to this moment.”
OctaveMusic Oyewumi, in his reaction, wrote, “There is a big challenge and there is a need for CAC to review this decision as soon as possible, cos banks will never open those approved names.”
“My problem is that these people will not accept this as feedback and make corrections; rather, they will take it as an attack,” Umar Idris reacted.
CAC defends AI system, warns against deliberate manipulation of registration portal
Meanwhile, the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC) has responded to recent criticisms of its (ICRP acknowledging attempts by some individuals to deliberately test and manipulate the system.
In a statement issued by on Wednesday, the Registrar General of the CAC, Ishaq Hussaini Magaji, the commission stated that the AI-powered platform is designed to learn and improve continuously.
“The ICRP is not a static system—it evolves with each interaction, becoming smarter and more efficient daily,” the statement read.
While welcoming constructive feedback to enhance the portal, the CAC cautioned against what it described as “deliberate attempts to bypass the system’s checks.”
“We value all genuine feedback. It helps us fine-tune the system and serve you better. But we also urge the public not to fall for those intentionally trying to manipulate the process just to undermine progress.
Together, let’s build a system that works for all,” Magaji said.
