The Impartial Corrupt Practices and Different Associated Offences Fee, ICPC, has vowed to continue its probe of the instant previous Chief Govt Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority, NMDPRA, Farouk Ahmed, despite the withdrawal of the unique petition by billionaire businessman Alhaji Aliko Dangote
The ICPC confirmed receipt of a proper withdrawal letter dated January 5, 2026, submitted by Dr. O.J. Onoja, SAN and Associates, on behalf of Dangote.
The letter explicitly withdrew the petition initially filed on December 16, 2025, in its entirety, stating that one other regulation enforcement company has taken over the matter.
Despite this, the anti-corruption company emphasised its independence and statutory obligation to proceed.
In an official assertion, the ICPC declared, “The letter from O.J Onoja SAN, states that the petitioner has withdrawn the petition dated sixteenth December, 2025, submitted towards Engineer Farouk Ahmed, the instant previous ACE/CEO of the NMDPRA in its entirety and that one other regulation enforcement company has taken over.
“The ICPC needs to state categorically that in line with the provisions of sections 3(14) and 27(3) of its enabling Act, the investigations within the curiosity of the Nigerian individuals and Nigerian state have already commenced and are presently ongoing.
“The ICPC will subsequently continue to examine this matter in line with its statutory mandate and within the curiosity of transparency, accountability and the struggle towards corruption for the good thing about Nigeria.”
The unique petition stemmed from a high-profile feud in late 2025 between Dangote whose huge refinery has clashed repeatedly with regulators over importation insurance policies, pricing, and market dominance and Ahmed throughout his tenure at NMDPRA.
Dangote accused Ahmed of corrupt enrichment, alleging the regulator spent over $5 million on his kids’s faculty charges at unique Swiss establishments expenditures allegedly inconsistent with a public servant’s official revenue.
The allegations escalated into a significant scandal, contributing to Ahmed’s resignation in December 2025 (alongside the NUPRC boss), President Bola Tinubu later nominated a substitute for the NMDPRA management.
Dangote’s preliminary petition to the ICPC demanded Ahmed’s arrest, investigation, and prosecution for abuse of workplace, corruption, and residing past his means.
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