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.
It said it had received a “notice of withdrawal” of the petition against Ahmed, submitted by a legal counsel to Dangote.
It, however, said that in line with the provisions of sections 3(14) and 27(3) of its enabling law, it would continue to investigate the matter in line with its statutory mandate and in the interest of transparency, accountability, and the fight against corruption for the benefit of Nigeria.
“The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) is in receipt of a letter dated January 5, 2026, titled “Notice of Withdrawal of Petition against Engineer Farouk Ahmed,” submitted to the Commission by Dr. O.J. Onoja, SAN and Associates, legal counsel to Alhaji Aliko Dangote,” a statement by the spokesperson of the commission, J. Okor Odey, partly read.
“The letter from O. J. Onoja SAN, states that the petitioner has withdrawn the petition dated 16 December, 2025, submitted against Engineer Farouk Ahmed, the immediate past ACE/CEO of the NMDPRA, in its entirety, and that another law enforcement agency has taken over.
“The ICPC wishes to state categorically that, in line with the provisions of sections 3(14) and 27(3) of its enabling Act, the investigations in the interest of the Nigerian people and the Nigerian state have already commenced and are presently ongoing,” the statement added.
Dangote, who is the Chairman of Dangote Group, had in December 2025 submitted a petition against Ahmed to the ICPC, accusing him of corruption and financial impropriety.
In the petition submitted on December 16, Dangote demanded the arrest, investigation, and prosecution of the former MD for allegedly living above his means as a public servant.
According to the petition received by the office of the Chairman of the ICPC, Musa Aliyu (SAN), the Dangote Group Chairman specifically accused the former NMDPRA boss of spending, without evidence of lawful means, an income amounting to over $7 million for the education of his four children in different schools in Switzerland for a period of six years upfront.
In the petition, Dangote listed the children and their schools in Switzerland, including the amount paid for each of them to establish his allegations and verification by the anti-graft agency.
He alleged that Ahmed was using the instrumentality of the NMDPRA to embezzle and divert public funds for self-gain and pursuit of private interest to the detriment of the Nigerian people, which orchestrated uproar and protest by different groups recently.
Dangote claimed that the NMDPRA boss, throughout his lifetime as an adult, worked in the public sector in Nigeria and that the totality of his earnings over the years was nothing close to $7 million.
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”.
The dispute between Dangote and Ahmed dates back to July 2024, when the former NMDPRA chief said local refineries, including the Dangote refinery, produced inferior products compared to those imported into the country.
