AFRICA’S richest businessman, Aliko Dangote, has petitioned the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over allegations of corruption, abuse of office, and financial impropriety against the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed.

The petition, dated December 16, 2025, was signed by Dangote’s lawyer, Ogwu J. Onoja, a  Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN) who leads his legal team and was addressed to the Chairman of the ICPC in Abuja.

In the letter, the legal firm alleged that Ahmed, who was appointed NMDPRA chief executive in September 2021 by late former President Muhammadu Buhari, had “grossly abused his office contrary to the extant provisions of the Code of Conduct for public officers.”

It also noted that the petroleum regulatory boss had become “enmeshed in monumental corruption and unlawful spending of public funds running into Millions of Dollars.”

According to the petition, Ahmed allegedly spent “a humongous amount of money of over $7 Million of public funds for the education of his four children in different schools in Switzerland for a period of six years upfront,” without evidence of lawful income to support such expenditure.

The children listed in the petition are Faisal Farouk, Farouk Jr., Ashraf Farouk, and Farhana Farouk, with the schools named as Montreux School, Aiglon College, Institut Le Rosey, and La Garenne International School.

The lawyers further alleged that Ahmed had used “the instrumentality of his office as the Chief Executive Officer of the NMDPRA to embezzle and divert public funds for self-gains and pursuit of private interest to the detriment of the Nigerian people,” adding that the alleged actions had triggered protests by different groups and attracted media attention.

The petition argued that Ahmed’s career-long service in the public sector could not justify the alleged spending, stating that “the totality of his earnings over the years is nothing close to the sum of 7 Million USD diverted from the public coffers to pay for the education of his teenage children abroad.”

Dangote’s lawyers said the allegations amounted to abuse of office, corrupt enrichment, and embezzlement, offences for which the ICPC is empowered to investigate and prosecute under Section 19 of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act.

Quoting the law, the petition stated:

“Any public officer who uses his office or position to gratify or confer any corrupt or unfair advantage upon himself or any relation or associate of the public officer or any other public officer shall be guilty of an offence and shall on conviction be liable to imprisonment for five (s) years without option of fine.”

The petitioners added that their client was ready to provide evidence to substantiate the allegations and urged the ICPC to act decisively, noting that the matter was already in the public domain.

Public allegations

The ICIR reports that Dangote’s petition to the ICPC followed public allegations he made days earlier against the leadership of the NMDPRA.

On Sunday, December 14, Dangote accused the NMDPRA’s boss, Ahmed, of corruption and living beyond his legitimate income.

During a press briefing, the billionaire industrialist alleged that the regulator’s boss paid over $5 million in tuition fees to Swiss secondary schools for four of his children over six years.

He argued that such expenditure raised serious concerns about conflicts of interest and the integrity of regulatory oversight in Nigeria’s downstream petroleum sector, particularly at a time when the sector is undergoing major reforms and increased private-sector participation.

Backstory

Dangote’s allegations emerged amid his broader criticism of what he described as entrenched cartels within the downstream oil and gas industry, which he said were deliberately frustrating his multi-billion-dollar refinery project in Lekki, Lagos State.

According to him, these groups pose “a bigger threat than drug mafias” and have historically benefited from import dependence and regulatory loopholes.

He cited repeated acts of sabotage at his refinery and at publicly owned refineries, including the removal of spare parts from a 400-ton boiler at the Lekki facility, which he described as the largest ever built.

Dangote also pointed to widespread destruction of pipeline infrastructure nationwide, insisting that the damage was not due to natural wear but deliberate acts meant to undermine domestic refining.

The ICIR reports that Dangote’s dominance in the petroleum market has often exposed longstanding inefficiencies in Nigeria’s refining sector, triggering resistance from major oil marketers and labour unions.

His frequent fuel price reductions and calls for an end to fuel importation have repeatedly drawn pushback from industry players, especially as his refinery continues to reshape pricing and supply dynamics.