Prominent Nigerian industrialist Aliko Dangote has formally requested a corruption investigation into a top government official in the oil sector, escalating a significant clash over accountability and public spending.
Formal Accusations Filed with Anti-Graft Agency
On Tuesday, December 16, 2025, Dr. Aliko Dangote, Chairman of the Dangote Group, submitted a detailed petition to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC). The petition, filed through his legal team led by Dr. Ogwu James Onoja, SAN, calls for the immediate investigation, arrest, and prosecution of Farouk Ahmed, the Managing Director of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
The core allegation centers on Ahmed's lifestyle, which Dangote claims is unsustainable on his public sector salary. The petition specifically accuses Ahmed of paying over $7 million in advance tuition fees for four of his children at various schools in Switzerland, covering a six-year period.
Details of the Alleged Financial Misconduct
Dangote's petition provides substantial specifics to back the claim. It includes the names of Ahmed's children and the Swiss schools they attended, presenting this as concrete evidence for the ICPC to pursue. The billionaire businessman argues that such a massive expenditure could not have been legitimately funded from Ahmed's official earnings, given his career has been spent entirely in public service.
"It is without doubt that the above facts in relation to abuse of office, breach of Code of Conduct for public officers, corrupt enrichment, and embezzlement are gross acts of corrupt practices," the petition states. It invokes Section 19 of the ICPC Act, which empowers the commission to investigate and prosecute such offences, potentially leading to a five-year jail term without an option of a fine upon conviction.
Dangote emphasized the ICPC's duty to combat financial crimes and safeguard public administration integrity. He also expressed his personal readiness to appear before the commission to provide further evidence, linking the case to the broader need for transparency under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu's administration.
Legal Backlash and Defence of Due Process
The petition has triggered a strong reaction from a segment of the legal community. On the same Tuesday, a coalition identified as Lawyers in Defence of Democracy and Anti-Corruption, comprising 40 legal practitioners, held a press conference in Abuja to condemn the move.
Speaking through their National Coordinator, Barrister Emeka Okafor, and Secretary, Barrister Mohammed Bello, the group labeled the allegations as "frivolous, baseless and unfounded." They criticized what they termed a "media trial" aimed at prejudicing the public against Ahmed without allowing for due process.
The lawyers warned that such actions could undermine democracy, the rule of law, and critically, investor confidence in Nigeria's crucial oil and gas sector, which the NMDPRA regulates.
This development sets the stage for a high-stakes confrontation between one of Africa's wealthiest individuals and a key regulator, with the nation's anti-corruption agency squarely in the middle. The ICPC's response will be closely watched as a test of its resolve in probing high-profile allegations within the powerful petroleum industry.
