The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has said it will continue the probe of a former Managing Director of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Ahmed Farouk, despite the withdrawal of the petition by Aliko Dangote.
Dangote had filed the petition on December 16, 2025, through his lawyer, Ogwu Onoja (SAN), urging the ICPC to investigate and potentially prosecute Ahmed over allegations of corruption and financial impropriety.
The petition alleged that Ahmed spent over $7m on the education of his four children in Switzerland, reportedly paid upfront for a six-year period, without any lawful source of income to justify such expenditure.
It also accused Ahmed of diverting public funds for personal gain through his position at the NMDPRA, claims which Dangote said had fueled public outrage and civil society protests.
The petition stated:“Engr. Farouk Ahmed has grossly abused his office contrary to the extant provisions of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers, enmeshing 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 $7 million of public funds on the education of his four children in different schools in Switzerland for a period of six years upfront.”
The entrepreneur said the money was allegedly diverted from the public coffers to pay for the education of his teenage children abroad.
But Ahmed denied the allegations.
He described them as “wild and spurious”.
However, the ICPC said it received a letter dated January 5, 2026, from Dangote’s lawyer notifying the commission that the petition had been withdrawn and that another law enforcement agency had taken over the matter.
In a statement, ICPC spokesperson John Odey emphasised that the withdrawal of the petition would not halt its investigation
