Chairman of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, has petitioned the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over alleged corruption and financial impropriety involving the Managing Director of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Ahmed Farouk.

In the petition dated December 16 and submitted through his lawyer, Ogwu Onoja (SAN), Dangote urged the ICPC to arrest, investigate, and prosecute the NMDPRA boss for allegedly living far beyond his legitimate means as a public servant.

According to the petition addressed to the ICPC Chairman, Musa Aliyu (SAN), Dangote alleged that Ahmed spent over $7 million, without any verifiable lawful source of income, on the education of his four children in Switzerland. He claimed the fees were paid upfront to cover a six-year period.

Dangote provided the names of the children, the Swiss schools they attend, and the amounts allegedly paid for each, calling on the anti-graft agency to independently verify the claims. He further accused Ahmed of using the instrumentality of the NMDPRA to embezzle and divert public funds for personal benefit, actions he said had sparked public outrage and recent protests.

The businessman argued that Ahmed has spent his entire adult working life in the Nigerian public sector and that his cumulative legitimate earnings could not reasonably account for such expenditure. He alleged that the funds used were diverted from public coffers.

“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 stated.

He noted that the offence carries a potential five-year jail term without an option of fine upon conviction and urged the Commission to act decisively, adding that enforcement would also help protect the image of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration. Dangote pledged to make himself available to provide evidence in support of his claims.

The allegations were first made public by Dangote during a press conference at the Dangote Refinery in Ibeju-Lekki, Lagos State, where he questioned the source of Ahmed’s wealth.

“I’ve had people actually complaining about a regulator who put his children in secondary school, and that secondary school education, which is six years, four of them cost Nigeria five million dollars,” he said, adding that his own children attended secondary school in Nigeria.

Dangote later published details of the allegations in a national daily before formally submitting the petition to the ICPC. He also accused the NMDPRA of frustrating efforts to improve local refining through continued issuance of fuel import licences.

Meanwhile, the ICPC has confirmed receipt of the petition. In a statement signed by its spokesperson, John Odey, the Commission said it received the petition on Tuesday, December 16, 2025, and would duly investigate the allegations.

Similar claims were raised against Ahmed in June 2025 when protesters marched to the offices of the Attorney General of the Federation, the Code of Conduct Bureau, and the ICPC in Abuja, demanding his resignation. The NMDPRA has previously denied all allegations against its chief executive, describing them as false, baseless, and part of a coordinated smear campaign.