How Can I Recover Old Shares Purchased in Nigeria and Transfer Them to a Modern Brokerage Account?

You are dealing with two separate issues here:
Recovering your NAHCO shares (ownership)
Recovering unpaid dividends (money owed to you)
I’ll break it down in a clean, practical way using how the Nigerian capital market actually works (CSCS + registrars system).
1. First important truth: Your shares are NOT lost
Even if:
You don’t have certificates anymore
You stopped receiving dividend alerts
You changed address, phone, or email
Your shares in Nigerian Aviation Handling Company Plc still exist because they are held electronically in the system via:
CSCS (Central Securities Clearing System)
Registrar: CardinalStone Registrars Limited
So this is not “lost money”—it is a record tracing problem, not an ownership problem.
2. Why you stopped receiving dividends
From what you described (you used to receive dividend certificates before), the most likely causes are:
Your bank details were never migrated to e-dividend system
Change of address / phone number
Name mismatch (e.g., spelling, middle name differences)
Shares not fully dematerialized into CSCS properly
Dividends now being classified as unclaimed dividends
This is very common in Nigeria after dematerialisation.
3. How to recover your shares (STEP-BY-STEP)
Step 1: Contact the Registrar (CardinalStone)
You must start here.
Send them:
Full name used when buying shares
Old addresses (very important)
Phone number(s) used then
Any old dividend warrant / certificate (if available)
Means of ID (NIN, passport, etc.)
Ask specifically for:
“GLOBAL SEARCH of my shareholder record and CSCS number”
They will check across:
NAHCO register
Old physical records
CSCS database
Step 2: Request your CHN / CSCS details
If your shares exist electronically, they will retrieve:
Your CHN (Clearing House Number)
Number of shares held
Dividend history
This step confirms ownership officially.
Step 3: Fill e-Dividend Mandate Form
This is CRITICAL.
You must complete the e-dividend form so future payments go directly to your bank.
This is also available through the registrar or your bank.
Once processed:
All future dividends will go straight into your account
No more dividend certificates
Step 4: Claim ALL unclaimed dividends
Once your records are corrected, you can request:
Backlog dividends (past unpaid ones)
This is handled by:
CardinalStone Registrars
Sometimes via SEC unclaimed dividend portal
4. What if shares are “missing” or not found?
If the registrar says they cannot immediately find your record:
Then you escalate with a global search through stockbrokers/CSCS tracing.
They may ask:
Old broker name (very important)
Employment records (since you said service year shares)
Any purchase receipts
This is standard “lost shareholder trace process” in Nigeria.
5. Do NOT panic about ownership
Even without documents:
Your shares cannot disappear
Companies and registrars are legally required to maintain records
Worst case: it takes longer to trace, not that it is gone
This is supported by how CSCS maintains all listed securities electronically in Nigeria’s market system
6. What you should do TODAY (simple action plan)
Write down your full old details (as used during NYSC)
Contact:
cardinalstoneregistrars.com
Request:
Global search
CSCS retrieval
Fill e-dividend form
Confirm bank details for payment
7. If you want, I can help you go further
If you reply with:
Approx year you bought the shares
Whether you used a stockbroker (and name if you remember)
Whether you still have any dividend slip
I can map out a very precise recovery path for your exact case, including what to say when you contact the registrar so you don’t get bounced around.