CAC boss Hussaini Magaji faces allegations over $200,000 Morocco home, abuse of office
The Registrar-General and Chief Executive Officer of Nigeria’s Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Ishaq Hussaini Magaji (SAN), has been hit by a wave of allegations, involving controversial marital arrangements, an overseas property dispute, and alleged abuse of official influence, following two marriages that reportedly collapsed within months of his assumption of office.
Multiple sources familiar with the matter told SaharaReporters, an online newspaper, that Magaji allegedly purchased a $200,000 house in Morocco to fulfil marriage requirements with a Moroccan woman identified as Assia Hay Mohammadi of Hay Mohammadi, Ain Sebaa, Casablanca. The marriage, the sources said, lasted barely two months before it broke down.
Following the collapse of the Moroccan marriage, Magaji allegedly returned to Nigeria and married a Nigerian woman, Maryam Abiso Abubakar, also known as Shuwa. That union reportedly ended after about three months, according to the report.
Sources said both marriages occurred within roughly one year and shortly after Magaji assumed office as Registrar-General of the CAC.
Sources told the medium that the Moroccan wife is now laying claim to the Morocco property, which was allegedly registered in both names. The dispute, they said, is complicated by Moroccan law, which reportedly requires a wife’s consent before a man can take another wife.
One source claimed that Magaji’s decision to marry again in Nigeria without the knowledge or consent of his Moroccan wife formed the basis for her departure and subsequent legal steps to assert ownership of the property.
“In Morocco, a man cannot marry another wife without the consent of the first. Because he went ahead and married in Nigeria secretly, he now risks losing the house,” the source said.
Sources further alleged that Magaji spent more than $300,000 on the Nigerian wedding, including luxury wedding boxes, gold jewellery reportedly sourced from Dubai, and a Mercedes-Benz vehicle.
Despite the lavish ceremony, the marriage reportedly collapsed over Magaji’s alleged failure to meet financial and lifestyle commitments he had promised. Family sources told SaharaReporters that Maryam was later removed from the marriage under claims that she was mentally unwell—an allegation insiders described as false and used as a pretext to dissolve the union.
More troubling allegations suggest that Magaji attempted to control and restrict the Nigerian wife’s movement. Maryam, a graduate of Baze University, Abuja, was said to have initially resisted the marriage and at one point fled to Lagos to stay with her sister.
Sources alleged that Magaji used security and anti-corruption institutions to track her location.
“He boasted that he would find her, claiming the EFCC and ICPC bosses were his friends and that he was a board member of the EFCC,” a source alleged.
Maryam was reportedly eventually traced, returned by family members, and the wedding hurriedly conducted, according to the sources. A video of the ceremony obtained by SaharaReporters reportedly shows the bride appearing visibly unhappy.
Sources also accused Magaji of betraying individuals who allegedly supported his appointment as CAC Registrar-General, describing him as “greedy” and “ungrateful.”
An official document obtained by SaharaReporters appears to corroborate plans for the Moroccan marriage. The document, dated January 9, 2024, and signed by Kabir Kabo Usman, Director-General of the International Centre for Islamic Culture & Education, was addressed to the Chargé d’Affaires of the Nigerian Embassy in Morocco.
Titled “Confirmation of Religious Affiliation for Marriage Documentation – Mr. Ishaq Magaji Hussaini SAN,” the letter confirms Magaji’s Sunni Muslim faith and states that it was issued to support documentation for his planned marriage to a Moroccan national. The letter also identified Magaji as Registrar-General/CEO of the CAC.
The marital allegations come amid renewed scrutiny of Magaji’s conduct in office. SaharaReporters had earlier reported claims that he quietly lifted a court-ordered restriction on corporate filings linked to OML 40, an oil asset associated with billionaire businessman Emeka Offor.
Sources said the restriction, imposed in 2023 over internal corporate disputes, prevented board changes and corporate resolutions at the CAC and remained in force until a change in leadership at the Commission.
According to CAC officials who spoke to the online medium anonymously, the restriction was lifted shortly after Magaji assumed office, without public notice or explanation, and coincided with sensitive transactions involving Seplat Energy Plc and Starcrest Nigeria Energy Limited, companies linked through a joint venture controlling OML 40.
Several sources alleged that members of Seplat’s suspended management visited the new Registrar-General shortly after his appointment, after which the restriction was removed.
Magaji has yet to publicly respond to the allegations
