BREAKING: Dangote Petitions ICPC, Demands Arrest of NMDPRA Boss Over $7m Education Scandal

In a dramatic escalation of his ongoing dispute with Nigeria’s oil regulator, billionaire industrialist Aliko Dangote has formally petitioned the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) demanding the immediate arrest and prosecution of the head of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Engr. Ahmed Farouk.

The petition, submitted on Tuesday, December 16, centers on allegations that Farouk spent over seven million dollars on the foreign education of his four children without a lawful source of income to justify the expenditure.

Filed through his lawyer, Ogwu Onoja, SAN, Dangote accused the regulator of “monumental corruption and unlawful spending of Public funds.”

The petition provides detailed claims, naming the children, their Swiss schools, and the specific amounts allegedly paid upfront for a six-year period.

“Engr Farouk Ahmed has grossly abused his office… and enmeshed himself in monumental corruption,” the petition stated, alleging the official used his position to “embezzle and divert public funds for personal gain.”

Dangote argued that as a career public servant, Farouk’s legitimate earnings could not account for such a vast sum. He urged the ICPC, under Chairman Musa Aliyu, SAN, to act swiftly, citing Section 19 of the ICPC Act, which prescribes a five-year jail term without an option of fine for such offences.

This legal action follows Dangote’s public accusations on Sunday, where he decried regulatory failures and corruption in the petroleum sector.

The NMDPRA had previously denied similar allegations raised by protesters in June 2025, labeling them a “smear campaign.”