Africa’s richest man, Alhaji Aliko Dangote, on Monday failed to appear before the special team of investigators set up by the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) to formally adopt his petition against the immediate past Managing Director of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Agency (NMDPRA), Engineer Farouk Ahmed.
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The anti-graft agency had last week insisted that the business mogul must appear in person to adopt the petition he filed on Tuesday, December 16, through his lawyer, Ogwu Onoja, SAN, and provide further evidence on the allegations contained in the petition.
The commission’s directive came even after Onoja appeared at the commission’s headquarters in Abuja last Monday, following an earlier invitation directing either Dangote or his lawyer to come and shed more light on the petition.
The ICPC had, in a letter sent to the business mogul through Onoja, insisted that Dangote must appear in person on Monday, December 29, to adopt the petition for procedural reasons.
The letter, signed by the Chief of Staff to the ICPC Chairman, Rouqayya Ibrahim, noted that the allegations against Ahmed are criminal in nature and may culminate in charges being filed in a court of law.
The letter, dated December 22, reads: “We are constrained to draw your attention to the fact that the matter under investigation is criminal in nature, being conducted pursuant to the provisions of the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Act, 2000.
“As you are aware, criminal investigations may culminate in criminal proceedings before a court of competent jurisdiction. It is therefore essential, for purposes of procedural integrity and admissibility, that Alhaji Aliko Dangote personally adopts his petition before the commission.
“Accordingly, we respectfully request that you kindly facilitate the appearance of Alhaji Aliko Dangote at the commission’s headquarters on 29th December 2025 at 10 a.m. for the purpose of formally adopting his petition.”
Sources, however, on Monday that Dangote failed to appear before the commission as demanded.
Dangote was, however, said to have written a letter to the ICPC, seeking another appointment in January for him to come and adopt the petition.
“Dangote did not appear before investigators today (yesterday) as requested by the ICPC in a letter sent to him through his lawyer, Dr Ogwu Onoja, last week.
“Instead, Africa’s richest man sent a letter seeking an adjournment to a date in January 2026,” the source said.
Dangote had, in the petition against Engineer Ahmed, alleged corrupt practices and misappropriation of funds, including the payment of over $5 million as school fees for Ahmed’s four children in expensive schools in Switzerland.
While claiming that the former NMDPRA boss was living above his legitimate earnings as a public officer, Dangote further alleged that Ahmed was undermining domestic petroleum refining, adding that he was colluding with oil marketers and international traders by continuously issuing import licences.
As a direct outcome of a meeting held with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu penultimate week, Ahmed resigned his appointment, and a successor was immediately named by the Presidency.
The ICPC had acknowledged receiving Dangote’s petition and assured that it would be duly investigated.
Sources further told our correspondent that Dangote’s lawyer came to the commission last week to adopt the petition on behalf of the business mogul.
Onoja, it was learnt, met with investigators, during which he presented some documents to buttress Dangote’s allegations against Ahmed.
The ICPC spokesperson could not be reached to confirm whether Dangote honoured the commission’s invitation.
However, a source who spoke with our correspondent yesterday reiterated the ICPC’s commitment to leaving no stone unturned in the course of investigating the allegations, insisting that the claims contained in Dangote’s petition were too weighty to be ignored.
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