Nigeria’s richest man petitions anti-graft agency over $7m ‘school fees scandal’
Nigeria’s richest man, Aliko Dangote, has formally petitioned the country’s anti-graft watchdog, accusing a powerful oil regulator of corruption, illicit enrichment and living far beyond his legitimate income.
In a petition dated December 16 and addressed to the chairman of the Independent Corrupt Practices and other Related Offences Commission, Dangote called for the arrest, investigation and prosecution of Ahmed Farouk, the managing director of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority.
Dangote alleged that Farouk spent more than $7 million on the education of his four children at schools in Switzerland, paying fees upfront for a six-year period, without any evidence of lawful income to support such expenditure. According to the petition, the businessman named the children, their respective schools and the sums allegedly paid, urging investigators to verify the claims.
The petition further accused the regulator of using his position to divert and embezzle public funds for personal benefit, conduct Dangote claimed had already fuelled public anger and protests. He argued that Farouk had spent his entire adult life in Nigeria’s public sector and that his cumulative earnings could not reasonably amount to anything close to the sums allegedly expended abroad.
“This is without doubt an abuse of office, a breach of the code of conduct for public officers and corrupt enrichment,” Dangote said, insisting the alleged conduct fell squarely within offences the commission is empowered to investigate and prosecute, carrying a potential five-year jail term upon conviction.
He added that the anti-graft agency was strategically positioned to pursue the matter decisively, warning that failure to act on allegations already in the public domain would undermine confidence in the administration of Bola Ahmed Tinubu. Dangote pledged to make himself available to provide evidence to substantiate the claims.
The Kano-born industrialist had first aired the allegations during a media appearance on Sunday, questioning how a public officer could afford what he described as multi-million-dollar secondary school fees abroad. He contrasted the claim with his own decision to educate his children in Nigeria and said many families in Farouk’s home state could not afford even modest school fees.
Dangote also accused the regulator of frustrating local refining efforts, alleging that the continued issuance of fuel import licences was undermining domestic capacity, including his own refinery project.
As the row escalated, Nigeria’s House of Representatives stepped in, summoning both men and ordering an end to public exchanges. Lawmakers said the intervention was aimed at cooling tensions that could destabilise the downstream petroleum sector. One committee leader said the goal was to identify the root causes of the dispute and find a sustainable resolution.
Despite the explosive claims, Farouk and the NMDPRA had not responded publicly at the time of filing this report.