Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote has filed a formal petition with the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC), urging the arrest, investigation and prosecution of the chief executive of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Engr Ahmed Farouk, over alleged misuse of public funds and breach of the Code of Conduct for public officers.
The petition, submitted in Abuja on 16 December 2025 through Dangote’s lawyer, Senior Advocate of Nigeria Ogwu Onoja, alleges that the regulator’s boss has been living “far beyond his legitimate means” and spending millions of dollars in public funds on his children’s education in Switzerland.
According to the petition received by ICPC chairman Dr Musa Aliyu, SAN, Dangote accuses Farouk of spending more than seven million dollars on the education of his four children in different schools in Switzerland, allegedly paying six years of tuition upfront without any clear lawful income to support the transactions.
The complaint states that the detailed names of the children, the institutions they attend and the specific fees paid are set out in the document, and it calls on the ICPC to independently verify the claimed payments and their sources.
Dangote alleges that the NMDPRA boss, whose career has reportedly been spent in Nigeria’s public sector, could not reasonably have amassed such funds on his official remuneration alone.
“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 reads in part.
The petition cites provisions of the ICPC Act and the Code of Conduct for Public Officers, arguing that the alleged conduct constitutes abuse of office, corrupt enrichment and embezzlement.
Dangote’s lawyer references Section 19 of the ICPC Act, which criminalises the use of public office to confer a corrupt or unfair advantage on oneself, relatives or associates, and prescribes a five‑year prison term without an option of fine upon conviction.
“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,” Onoja wrote.
The petition urges the ICPC to “cause a thorough investigation into the financial dealings, lifestyle and expenditure patterns” of the NMDPRA chief and to arrest and prosecute him if the allegations are substantiated.
Dangote, chairman of the Dangote Group, says in the petition that he is willing to provide documents and other materials to back his claims against Farouk.
He contends that the alleged diversion of taxpayers’ money into private educational expenses has “fuelled public outrage” and undermined confidence in regulatory institutions.
“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 in the filing.
“Decisive action by the ICPC will help uphold justice and protect the integrity of the current administration,” he added, expressing confidence in the ability of the ICPC and other agencies to investigate financial crimes.
Dangote’s latest move follows a press conference he held in Lagos on Sunday, where he accused the NMDPRA boss of regulatory failure and corruption in the downstream petroleum sector, warning that “these allegations, if left unanswered, will continue to undermine public trust and investor confidence.”
In June 2025, a coalition of protesters had also marched to the offices of the Attorney General of the Federation, the Code of Conduct Bureau and the ICPC in Abuja, demanding Farouk’s resignation over alleged corruption.
