The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has invited billionaire businessman Aliko Dangote to provide additional details over his petition against the immediate past Managing Director of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Alhaji Farouk Ahmed.
Dangote is expected to appear before the commission on Monday or be represented by his lawyer, Ogwu Onoja (SAN), as investigation into the petition formally begins.
Sources at the anti-graft agency disclosed that a special panel of investigators was constituted on Friday to handle the case.
The panel was reportedly directed by the ICPC Chairman, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu (SAN), to prioritise Dangote’s petition, underscoring the seriousness attached to the matter.
According to the sources, Dangote has been asked to formally adopt the petition and submit documentary evidence to substantiate the allegations.
The commission is expected to thereafter isolate the issues raised and invite Ahmed to respond.
Dangote had accused the former NMDPRA boss of corruption, abuse of office and economic sabotage, alleging that Ahmed spent over $7 million on the education of his four children in Switzerland without lawful means of income.
The petition reportedly detailed the names of the children, the schools attended and specific amounts paid.
The businessman further alleged that Ahmed undermined local refining by colluding with oil importers and international traders through the continued issuance of petroleum import licences, despite domestic refining capacity.
Although Ahmed has since resigned his position, ICPC officials maintained that the resignation would not halt the probe, describing the investigation as being in the public interest.
A source at the commission said the agency would be fair to all parties involved, noting that Section 19 of the ICPC Act criminalises the use of public office for personal or family benefit, with penalties including imprisonment.
Dangote, through his lawyer, had demanded Ahmed’s arrest, investigation and prosecution, alleging that the former regulator lived far beyond his legitimate earnings as a public servant.
The dispute between Dangote and petroleum regulators had earlier escalated into a N100 billion lawsuit filed by Dangote Petroleum Refinery and Petrochemicals FZE at the Federal High Court in Abuja, challenging import licences issued by NMDPRA and other agencies.
The suit was later withdrawn in July 2025.
Confirming the development, ICPC spokesperson John Okor Odey said the commission received a formal petition from Dangote on December 16, 2025, adding that the allegations would be thoroughly investigated.
