BREAKING: Dangote Petitions ICPC, Demands Arrest Of NMDPRA Boss Over Alleged Fraud

Business mogul and chairman of Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has petitioned the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), demanding the arrest, investigation, and prosecution of the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Engr. Ahmed Farouk, over alleged corruption and abuse of office.

In the petition dated and submitted on December 16, 2025, through his lawyer, Ogwu Onoja, SAN, Dangote accused the NMDPRA boss of “living far beyond his legitimate means” as a public servant and “enmeshing himself in monumental corruption and unlawful spending of public funds running into millions of dollars.”

The petition, which was received by the office of the ICPC chairman, Dr. Musa Aliyu, SAN, alleged that Engr. Farouk spent over seven million dollars ($7m) on the education of his four children in Switzerland — payments said to have been made upfront for a six-year period without any lawful source of income to justify the expenditure.

“Engr. Farouk Ahmed has grossly abused his office contrary to the extant provisions of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers and, in doing so, enmeshed himself in monumental corruption and unlawful spending of public funds running into millions of dollars,” the petition read in part.

Dangote’s petition reportedly detailed the names of Farouk’s four children, the Swiss schools they attended, and the exact tuition fees paid, urging the ICPC to verify the claims independently.

“That Engr. Farouk Ahmed spent, without evidence of lawful means of income, a humongous amount of over seven million dollars of public funds for the education of his four children in different schools in Switzerland for a period of six years upfront,” Dangote alleged.

According to the billionaire industrialist, Farouk has spent his entire working life in the Nigerian public sector and could not, based on his legitimate earnings, have amassed such a fortune.

“It is without doubt that the above facts in relation to abuse of office, breach of the Code of Conduct for public officers, corrupt enrichment and embezzlement are gross acts of corrupt practices for which your Commission is statutorily empowered under Section 19 of the ICPC Act to investigate and prosecute,” Dangote said.

He added that the alleged acts, if proven, attract a prison term of five years without an option of fine under the same law.

Dangote further accused the NMDPRA chief of using his office to “embezzle and divert public funds for personal gain,” claiming such conduct has fuelled public outrage and recent protests by civic groups.

“That Engr. Farouk Ahmed has corruptly enriched himself with taxpayers’ money meant for public consumption and diverted it into private uses,” 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 shall be guilty of an offence and shall on conviction be liable to imprisonment for five years without option of fine.”

Dangote said he is confident in the ICPC’s capacity, alongside other anti-corruption agencies, to investigate and prosecute financial crimes, stressing that decisive action would “uphold justice and protect the image of the administration of President Bola Tinubu.”

“Decisive action by the ICPC will help uphold justice and protect the integrity of the current administration,” he noted.

The billionaire also vowed to provide evidence to substantiate his allegations of corrupt enrichment and abuse of office against Farouk.

This development followed Dangote’s press conference in Lagos on Sunday, where he accused the NMDPRA boss of regulatory failure and alleged corruption within the downstream petroleum sector.

“These allegations, if left unanswered, will continue to undermine public trust and investor confidence,” he said at the briefing.

Recall that in June 2025, a coalition of protesters had similarly accused the NMDPRA chief of corruption, storming the offices of the Attorney General of the Federation, the Code of Conduct Bureau, and the ICPC to demand his resignation.

The NMDPRA, however, dismissed all allegations, describing them as “an orchestrated smear campaign” based on “false claims” against its Chief Executive and leadership.