The Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission has invited Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, to appear before its investigators to substantiate allegations of corruption levelled against the immediate past Managing Director of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, Alhaji Farouk Ahmed.
PLATFORM TIMES gathered that the anti-graft agency formally commenced investigation of the petition on Monday, insisting that Ahmed’s resignation from office would not stall or affect the probe, which it described as being in the public interest.
Sources at the commission disclosed that Dangote, or his lawyer, Chief Ogwu Onoja (SAN), had been directed to appear before investigators to formally adopt the petition and submit documentary evidence to back the serious allegations.
The petition, dated December 16 and addressed to the ICPC Chairman, Dr. Musa Adamu Aliyu (SAN), accused Ahmed of corruption, abuse of office and illicit enrichment while in office.
According to sources familiar with the development, the commission has already constituted a special panel of senior investigators to handle the case, underscoring the gravity attached to the allegations.
“All is set for the investigation,” a source told PLATFORM TIMES at the weekend.
“The Chairman has set up a panel of crack investigators and directed them to focus squarely on Dangote’s petition. That alone shows the importance attached to this case.”
The source added that the commission had acknowledged receipt of the petition in line with its statutory guidelines and invited Dangote to formally adopt it.
“He who alleges must prove. Dangote or his lawyer has been invited to present relevant documents and evidence to support the claims, which our investigators will act upon,” the source said.
The ICPC stressed that due process would be strictly followed, noting that once the petition is adopted, the issues would be isolated and the former NMDPRA boss would be given the opportunity to respond.
“We have been inundated with enquiries, but ICPC will be fair to all parties involved,” the source assured.
Addressing speculation that Ahmed’s resignation might halt the investigation, the source dismissed such claims, insisting that the probe would proceed unhindered.
“The resignation of Ahmed does not affect this probe in any way. It is a matter of public interest and will be thoroughly investigated,” the source said.
The commission also cited provisions of its enabling law, warning both public officers and petitioners of the consequences of their actions.
“Section 19 of the ICPC Act makes it an offence for a public officer to use his position to confer corrupt advantage on himself, relatives or associates. Anyone found guilty faces up to five years’ imprisonment without an option of fine,” the source noted.
The law, the source added, also prescribes punishment for individuals who deliberately waste the commission’s time through malicious or frivolous petitions.
In the petition, Dangote alleged that Ahmed lived far beyond his legitimate earnings as a career public servant, claiming that he spent over $7 million on the education of his four children in Switzerland, with school fees allegedly paid upfront for six years.
The businessman reportedly provided details of the children, their schools and the amounts paid, urging the ICPC to verify the claims and establish what he described as “clear evidence of corrupt enrichment.”
Dangote further accused the former NMDPRA boss of diverting public funds for personal use and deploying the regulatory authority to pursue private interests to the detriment of Nigerians.
He argued that Ahmed’s lifetime earnings in public service could not lawfully justify such expenditure and alleged that the funds used were diverted from public coffers.
Dangote, who first made the allegations public during a media interaction at the Dangote Refinery in Lekki, Lagos, also accused the regulator of frustrating local refining efforts through the issuance of fuel import licences.
The businessman reportedly expressed readiness to personally appear before ICPC investigators to provide additional documentary evidence to substantiate his claims.
Ahmed, alongside the Chief Executive of the Nigerian Upstream Petroleum Regulatory Commission, Gbenga Komolafe, recently resigned from office, a development that has continued to attract public scrutiny amid the unfolding investigation.
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