The Chairman of Dangote Group, Dr. Aliko Dangote, has formally petitioned the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) against the Managing Director of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Engr. Farouk Ahmed, alleging corruption, abuse of office and illicit enrichment.
In a petition dated December 16 and submitted through his lawyer, Dr. Ogwu James Onoja (SAN), Dangote called for the arrest, investigation and prosecution of the NMDPRA chief, accusing him of living far above his lawful means as a public officer.
Dangote specifically alleged that Ahmed spent over seven million dollars on the education of his four children in Switzerland, paying school fees upfront for a period of six years, without any verifiable lawful source of income to justify such expenditure.
According to the petition, which was received by the office of the ICPC Chairman, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu (SAN), Dangote named the four children, their respective schools in Switzerland and the amounts allegedly paid for each, urging the anti-graft agency to verify the claims.
The industrialist further accused Ahmed of using the instrumentality of the NMDPRA to embezzle and divert public funds for personal gain and private interests, actions he claimed had triggered public outrage and protests by various groups in recent times.
Dangote argued that Ahmed had spent his adult life working in Nigeria’s public sector and that his cumulative legitimate earnings could not reasonably account for an expenditure of over $7 million on foreign education for his teenage children.
“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 constitute gross acts of corrupt practices,” Dangote stated, citing Section 19 of the ICPC Act, which empowers the commission to investigate and prosecute such offences.
He noted that upon conviction under the Act, an offender is liable to a five-year jail term without an option of fine, urging the ICPC to act decisively in the matter.
Dangote expressed confidence in the capacity of the ICPC and sister agencies to prosecute financial crimes, stressing that the courts would not hesitate to punish offenders where a prima facie case is established.
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He called on the commission to thoroughly investigate the allegations against Ahmed and prosecute him if found culpable, adding that decisive action would help safeguard the public interest and protect the image of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
Dangote also pledges his readiness to provide evidence to substantiate his allegations of corrupt enrichment, abuse of office and impunity against the NMDPRA managing director.
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