A powerful coalition of legal experts, student bodies, civil society organizations, and key industry stakeholders has risen in strong defense of Farouk Ahmed, the Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA).
This wave of support comes as the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) confirmed it will investigate a high-stakes petition filed against Ahmed by Aliko Dangote, Chairman of the Dangote Group.
The Nigerian oil and gas sector has become a battleground following Dangote’s petition, submitted on December 16, 2025, through his lawyer, Ogwu Onoja (SAN). The petition accuses Ahmed of monumental corruption, specifically alleging he spent over $7 million of public funds on his children’s education in Switzerland.
Reacting to the petition, ICPC spokesperson John Odey stated: “The ICPC wishes to confirm that it received a formal petition today, Tuesday, December 16, 2025, from Alhaji Aliko Dangote through his lawyer. The petition is against the CEO of the NMDPRA, Alhaji Farouk Ahmed. The ICPC wishes to state that the petition will be duly investigated.”
“Reckless Fabrications”: Lawyers and Students Condemn ‘Media Trial’
Despite the gravity of the allegations, support for Ahmed has been swift and vocal. A group of 40 lawyers operating under the aegis of Lawyers in Defence of Democracy and Anti-Corruption slammed the accusations as baseless “reckless fabrications.”
Addressing a press conference in Abuja, National Coordinator Emeka Okafor and Secretary Barrister Mohammed Bello argued that the claims are part of a malicious media campaign. Okafor emphasized that Ahmed’s regulatory stance is about breaking monopolies, not corruption.
“This is a clear attempt at a media conviction of a public officer who has not been investigated, charged, or found guilty by any competent authority,” Okafor declared.
Barrister Bello added, “If indeed there were genuine concerns, the proper course of action would have been to submit a petition to relevant anti-corruption agencies for investigation, not a trial by media.”
The National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) joined the defense, releasing a statement signed by Samson Ajasa and Humphrey Jonathan. They warned against the intimidation of statutory bodies.
“The recent actions and allegations directed at Farouk Ahmed, a man of proven integrity, professionalism, and service to the nation, are totally unacceptable to Nigerian students and civil society groups,” the statement read.
PETROAN Backs Regulatory Reforms
Crucially, the Petroleum Products Retail Outlets Owners Association of Nigeria (PETROAN) issued a vote of confidence in Ahmed’s leadership. In a statement signed by Dr. Joseph Obele, PETROAN warned that attacking regulators could spook international investors.
Dr. Billy Gillis-Harry, PETROAN National President, stated: “The ongoing allegations and verbal attacks directed at the leadership of the NMDPRA by the President of Dangote Group are capable of discouraging potential foreign investors and eroding confidence in Nigeria’s regulatory institutions.”
PETROAN also raised alarms about a potential “dirty price war” in the sector. “The current dirty price war is already causing collateral damage to all parties involved. Most of the aggressive price crashes appear designed to frustrate importers and are often executed below cost. This is unsustainable and harmful to the long-term stability of the downstream sector,” the association warned.
The Allegations at the Center of the Storm
The controversy stems from Dangote’s detailed petition, which claims Ahmed paid upfront for six years of schooling for his four children in Switzerland without a justifiable income source.
“That Engr Farouk Ahmed has grossly abused his office contrary to the extant provisions of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers and, by so doing, enmeshed himself in monumental corruption and unlawful spending of public funds running into millions of dollars,” the petition alleged.
It continued: “That Engr. Farouk Ahmed spent, without evidence of lawful means of income, a humongous sum of over $7m of public funds on the education of his four children in different schools in Switzerland for a period of six years upfront.”
Dangote argued these actions warrant prosecution under the ICPC Act: “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 is statutorily empowered under Section 19 of the ICPC Act to investigate and prosecute.”
At a separate briefing in Lagos, Dangote doubled down, stating: “I’ve actually had people making complaints about a regulator who has actually put his children in secondary school. And that secondary school education, which is six years, four of them cost Nigeria $5m. I mean, you cannot imagine somebody paying $5m for educating four children.”
With some civil society organizations also dismissing the allegations as a calculated attempt to discredit the NMDPRA’s anti-monopoly stance, the unfolding investigation is set to be a major test of governance and regulatory independence in Nigeria’s critical oil sector.
