The Chairman of Dangote Group, Mr. Aliko Dangote, has petitioned the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) over alleged corruption and financial impropriety by the Managing Director of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Engr. Ahmed Farouk.

The petition, dated December 16 and submitted through Mr. Dangote’s lawyer, Chief Ogwu Onoja (SAN), called for the arrest, investigation, and prosecution of Engr. Ahmed for allegedly living far above his means as a public officer.

According to the petition, which was received by the office of the Chairman of the ICPC, Dr. Musa Aliyu (SAN), Mr. Dangote accused the NMDPRA boss of expending more than $7 million, without evidence of lawful income, on the education of his four children in different schools in Switzerland. The payments were allegedly made upfront to cover a six-year period.

Mr. Dangote stated that the petition listed the names of the children, their respective schools in Switzerland, and the amounts paid for each, in order to enable verification by the anti-graft agency.

He further alleged that Engr. Ahmed had been using the instrumentality of the NMDPRA to embezzle and divert public funds for personal gain and the pursuit of private interests, actions which he said had recently triggered public uproar and protests by various groups.

According to Mr. Dangote, the NMDPRA managing director has spent his entire adult working life in Nigeria’s public sector, and his cumulative earnings over the years could not reasonably amount to $7 million.

The businessman alleged that the funds used for the foreign education of Engr. Ahmed’s teenage children were diverted from public coffers.

“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 are gross acts of corrupt practices for which your Commission (ICPC) is statutorily empowered under Section 19 of the ICPC Act to investigate and prosecute,” Mr. Dangote said.

“Upon a successful prosecution of such a person under Section 19 of the ICPC Act, the person is liable to imprisonment for five years without an option of fine.

“We make bold to state that the ICPC is strategically positioned, along with sister agencies, to prosecute financial crimes and other corruption-related offences, and upon establishing a prima facie case, the courts do not hesitate to punish offenders.

“In view of the above, we call on the Commission, under your leadership, to investigate the complaint of abuse of office and corruption against Engr. Farouk Ahmed and to prosecute him accordingly if found wanting.

“We have no reservation that, being a matter already in the public domain, the Commission will not turn a blind eye to it, but will act decisively to ensure that justice is done and that the good image of the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu is protected.”

Mr. Dangote also pledged to make himself available to provide evidence in support of his allegations of corrupt enrichment and abuse of office against Engr. Ahmed.

The Kano-born businessman first made the allegations during an interview on Sunday, in which he questioned the NMDPRA chief’s source of wealth.

“I’ve had people actually complaining about a regulator who put his children in secondary school, and that secondary school education, which is six years, four of them, cost Nigeria five million dollars,” he said at a press conference at the Dangote Refinery in the Ibeju-Lekki area of Lagos State.

“My children went to secondary school in Nigeria. They did not go outside Nigeria to attend secondary school.”

On Tuesday, Mr. Dangote published details of the allegations in a national daily and, hours later, formally petitioned the NMDPRA managing director.

He added: “Nigerians deserve to know the source or sources of these sums of money paid by a public officer, while many parents in his home state of Sokoto cannot afford to pay N10,000 in school fees for their children and wards.”

Mr. Dangote also accused the NMDPRA of frustrating efforts to improve local refining capacity, particularly through the continued issuance of petroleum import licences.