Africa’s foremost businessman, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, has withdrawn his petition to the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) against the former Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Alhaji Farouk Ahmed.
However, the ICPC said there was no going back on its investigation of Ahmed, stressing that the matter is in the public interest.
The anti-graft agency has activated a formal procedure to reach out to schools in Switzerland to verify whether Farouk’s children were, or are, enrolled in the institutions listed in the petition.
Dangote had alleged that Ahmed expended, without evidence of lawful income, a humongous sum of over $7 million in public funds on the education of his four children in different schools in Switzerland, allegedly paying fees upfront for a period of six years.
Investigation by our correspondent revealed that Dangote decided to withdraw his petition from the ICPC because a similar complaint is already being investigated by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC).
He reportedly asked the ICPC to allow the EFCC to proceed with the investigation, even though he had initially chosen to petition the two agencies.
A source at the commission said: “We asked him to come in person to adopt his petition because our law does not allow representation in criminal matters.
“We pleaded with Dangote to come to the ICPC headquarters in Abuja on December 29 to do the needful.
“We have now received a letter of withdrawal from him. But he cannot stop our investigation because the petition falls within our mandate.
“We deal with the public sector and public service. It is in the public interest, and we must see it to its logical conclusion.
“There is also an inter-agency understanding that once ICPC or EFCC is handling a petition, one of us must stay action.
“Despite the withdrawal of the petition, we are going ahead with our probe of the allegations against Farouk.
“The ICPC has initiated a formal procedure to reach out to all the schools in Switzerland mentioned in Dangote’s petition.
A statement by the Spokesperson and Head, Media and Public Communications of ICPC, Mr. John Okor Odey, last night confirmed the commission’s position.
The statement said: “The ICPC is in receipt of a letter dated January 5, 2025, 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.
“The letter states that the petitioner has withdrawn the petition dated December 16, 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, investigations in the interest of the Nigerian people and the Nigerian state have already commenced and are presently ongoing.
“The ICPC will therefore continue to investigate this matter in line with its statutory mandate and in the interest of transparency, accountability and the fight against corruption for the benefit of Nigeria.”
“As a matter of fact, we are awaiting their feedback.”
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