The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has invited business mogul and Chairman of the Dangote Group, Aliko Dangote, to appear before its investigators in Abuja over a petition he submitted against a former petroleum regulator.
Sources within the anti-graft agency confirmed on Sunday that Dangote is expected to appear before a special panel of investigators on Monday in connection with his petition against Ahmed Farouk, the former Managing Director of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
According to the source, the ICPC Chairman, Dr Musa Aliyu (SAN), constituted the panel and directed it to give focused attention to the allegations contained in Dangote’s petition.
Dangote, or his legal representative, Chief Ogwu Onoja (SAN), is expected to present documentary evidence when the investigation formally begins.
In the petition, Dangote accused Farouk of corruption and misappropriation of public funds. He alleged that the former NMDPRA boss spent millions of dollars on the education of his four children in elite schools in Switzerland without evidence of lawful income to support such expenditure.
The petition further alleged that Farouk undermined Nigeria’s domestic refining efforts by colluding with international oil traders and importers through the continued issuance of petroleum import licences.
Although Farouk has since resigned from office, the ICPC said the development does not affect the investigation, stressing that the probe will proceed in line with its mandate.
The commission has asked Dangote to submit all relevant evidence to support the allegations and assured that the investigation would be conducted fairly and transparently.
Confirming the development, ICPC spokesperson John Okor Odey said the commission received the formal petition on December 16 through Dangote’s lawyer.
The petition reportedly alleges that Farouk spent more than seven million dollars on his children’s education abroad without verifiable lawful sources of income, prompting Dangote to demand his arrest, investigation and prosecution for allegedly living beyond his means as a public official.
The development comes amid recent changes in Nigeria’s petroleum regulatory leadership. Earlier in the week, President Bola Tinubu forwarded the names of two nominees to the Senate to head the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority and the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission (NUPRC), following the resignations of Farouk and Gbenga Komolafe.
The President nominated Saidu Mohammed as Chief Executive Officer of the NMDPRA and Oritsemeyiwa Eyesan as Chief Executive Officer of the NUPRC, urging the Senate to expedite their confirmation.
Meanwhile, Senior Advocate of Nigeria and legal scholar, Dr Olisa Agbakoba, has expressed concern over the broader dispute between Dangote Petroleum Refinery and the NMDPRA, warning that the controversy raises fundamental governance questions about Nigeria’s management of its oil and gas sector.
Farouk and Komolafe were appointed in 2021 by the late President Muhammadu Buhari to lead the two regulatory agencies established under the Petroleum Industry Act.
