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Nigeria’s anti-graft agency has reportedly invited business magnate Aliko Dangote to appear before its panel over a corruption petition he submitted against Ahmed Farouk, the former managing director of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
An inside source told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Sunday that the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) has asked Dangote to appear on Monday in Abuja, or to be represented by counsel, as it begins investigating allegations against Farouk.
A source close to the commission said the ICPC chairman, Musa Aliyu, had “set up a panel of crack investigators to handle the probe” and has also asked “the team to focus on Dangote’s petition.”
Dangote submitted the petition last Tuesday through his lawyer, Ogwu Onoja, a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), calling for Farouk’s arrest, investigation and prosecution for allegedly living above his means as a public servant.
In the petition, Dangote accused Farouk of corruption and misappropriation of public funds, alleging that the former regulator spent more than $7 million on the education of his four children in Switzerland without evidence of lawful income.
He estimated the cost of their secondary education and upkeep at about $5 million and alleged that an additional $2 million was spent on tertiary education, including $210,000 for one child’s MBA programme at Harvard University in 2025.
Dangote also alleged that Farouk used his position at the NMDPRA to embezzle and divert public funds for personal gain.
“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, for which ICPC is statutorily empowered under section 19 of the ICPC Act to investigate and prosecute,” the petition said.
“Upon a successful prosecution, under section 19 of the ICPC Act, the person is liable to imprisonment for five years without an option of fine.”
Farouk has since resigned from office, but the ICPC said the resignation does not affect the investigation.
