Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has initiated an investigation following a petition filed by Africa’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, against the former Managing Director of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), Farouk Ahmed.
The petition, submitted via Dangote’s legal representative, accuses Ahmed of abuse of office and allegedly spending public funds on his children’s education.
Dangote had first approached the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) in December 2025, claiming that Ahmed spent approximately $7 million on his children’s secondary schooling in Switzerland, violating the Code of Conduct for Public Officers.
Although Dangote withdrew the petition from the ICPC on January 5, 2026, the ICPC confirmed it would continue its inquiry under Sections 3(14) and 27(3) of its enabling Act.
On July 6, Dangote submitted a fresh petition to the EFCC. A senior EFCC official told Sunday PUNCH that the commission had begun work on the petition, but Farouk Ahmed has not yet been invited.
The official explained that the EFCC is writing to all parties and institutions mentioned in the petition to gather necessary information before summoning the accused.
“We are following normal investigative procedure. Inviting the accused comes last, after both local and international verifications,” the official said.
The EFCC has previously contacted educational institutions abroad in similar cases. For instance, in 2024, during an investigation involving former Kogi State governor Yahaya Bello, the EFCC confirmed $845,852 in tuition fees paid to the American International School of Abuja, part of which was refundable.
This investigation marks another high-profile scrutiny of public officials’ use of state funds for personal expenditures in Nigeria.
