The Nigerian oil and gas sector has been plunged into renewed controversy following a decision by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission to probe a petition filed against Farouk Ahmed, Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.
The petition, submitted on December 16, 2025, by Dangote Group Chairman Aliko Dangote through his lawyer, Ogwu Onoja (SAN), urges the ICPC to investigate, prosecute, and possibly arrest Ahmed over alleged corruption and financial misconduct. Dangote alleges that Ahmed spent over $7 million on the education of his four children in Switzerland, reportedly paid in advance for six years, without any lawful income to justify the expense.
“That Engr Farouk Ahmed has grossly abused his office contrary to the extant provisions of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers and, by so doing, enmeshed himself in monumental corruption and unlawful spending of public funds running into millions of dollars.
“That Engr. Farouk Ahmed spent, without evidence of lawful means of income, a humongous sum of over $7m of public funds on the education of his four children in different schools in Switzerland for a period of six years upfront,” the petition stated.
Dangote also named the children and the Swiss schools they attend, detailing the alleged sums paid for each to aid verification by the ICPC.
He further accused Ahmed of diverting public funds for personal benefit through the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, a claim he says has sparked public outrage and recent protests by civil society groups.
“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.
Dangote further stated that a conviction under the relevant laws carries a possible five-year prison term without the option of a fine.
He accused Ahmed of misappropriating public funds intended for the common good and using them for personal enrichment, a practice he said has weakened public confidence in Nigeria’s petroleum industry.
Reacting to the petition, the ICPC spokesperson, John Odey, confirmed its receipt.
He said, “The ICPC wishes to confirm that it received a formal petition today, Tuesday, December 16, 2025, from Alhaji Aliko Dangote through his lawyer. The petition is against the CEO of the NMDPRA, Alhaji Farouk Ahmed. The ICPC wishes to state that the petition will be duly investigated.”
Meanwhile, a coalition of 40 lawyers, operating under the banner of Lawyers in Defence of Democracy and Anti-Corruption, has dismissed the corruption allegations against Ahmed as unfounded, describing Dangote’s claims as a malicious media trial designed to portray him as guilty without due process.
Speaking at a press conference in Abuja, the group’s National Coordinator, Emeka Okafor, and its Secretary, Barrister Mohammed Bello, said the allegations—including claims that $5 million was spent on Ahmed’s children’s education in Switzerland—were reckless fabrications lacking factual or evidentiary support.
Okafor stressed that the NMDPRA chief’s regulatory actions were driven by national interest, aimed at breaking monopolistic structures and encouraging broader investor participation in the petroleum sector.
“This is a clear attempt at a media conviction of a public officer who has not been investigated, charged, or found guilty by any competent authority,” Okafor said.
The lawyers cautioned that such tactics could deter both local and foreign investors, especially at a time when President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda is centred on economic revitalisation. They insisted that any grievances should be pursued through lawful institutional channels, not media campaigns.
“If indeed there were genuine concerns, the proper course of action would have been to submit a petition to relevant anti-corruption agencies for investigation, not a trial by media,” Barrister Bello stated.
The National Association of Nigerian Students also condemned what it described as a media smear campaign against Ahmed. In a statement jointly signed by Samson Ajasa and Humphrey Jonathan, the group said the NMDPRA is a statutory regulatory body that must not be coerced, intimidated, or blackmailed to advance individual or corporate interests.
NANS added that while it had supported the Dangote Refinery during its operational challenges, it would not condone character assassination or reputational attacks on credible public officials.
“The recent actions and allegations directed at Farouk Ahmed, a man of proven integrity, professionalism, and service to the nation, are totally unacceptable to Nigerian students and civil society groups,” the statement read.
NANS urged Dangote Refinery to channel its concerns through established legal and administrative frameworks by engaging relevant regulators and government institutions, rather than resorting to media campaigns that could erode public confidence and threaten national stability.
More than 50 civil society organisations also rejected Dangote’s allegations as false, baseless, and lacking evidence. Speaking for the coalition, Comrade Ibrahim Bello, National Coordinator of the Centre for Fiscal Transparency and Public Integrity, said the groups carried out internal reviews and found no grounds for the corruption claims against Ahmed.
They characterized the allegations as a deliberate effort to undermine NMDPRA’s leadership due to its firm anti-monopoly stance in Nigeria’s midstream and downstream petroleum sector.
