Dangote’s ICPC Petition Against Farouk Ahmed Over N200bn Bridging Claims Scandal – What Really Happened
By: Abudu Olalekan
Something big is brewing in Nigeria’s oil sector, and it’s getting messy fast.
Aliko Dangote, the man who doesn’t talk unless it really matters, has quietly walked into the ICPC office and dropped a petition that has everyone sitting up. The target? Engr. Ahmed Farouk, the current boss of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA). The allegation? Corruption, abuse of office, living way above his salary, and trying to push through suspicious bridging claims worth over N200 billion. Yes, billion with a B.
Here’s the part that makes people angry.
Farouk and his team are reportedly preparing to pay out more than N200 billion in “legacy bridging claims” for 2023, 2024, and even 2025 – claims that nobody can properly verify. Bridging claims, for those who don’t know, are the extra money marketers get from government to transport fuel from depots to filling stations so that pump price can be the same everywhere. Nice idea on paper. But in reality? Fuel sells for N1,200 in Lagos, N1,500 in Maiduguri, and sometimes N1,800 in the villages. So where exactly did all that bridging money go all these years?
Industry insiders are whispering that up to 47% of these claims don’t match the actual levies paid per litre. Forty-seven percent! That’s not a small error. That’s not even tea money. That’s hundreds of billions that may have just disappeared into private pockets while Nigerians queue for days to buy fuel.
One senior source who has seen the numbers told Reportersroom yesterday:
“Look, some of these marketers submit bridging claims that have no single connection with the levies they actually paid. Sometimes the difference is almost half. And now the same regulator who cannot provide data for 47% of the claims wants to pay N250 billion without questions? This thing smells bad. Very bad. The Auditor-General needs to stop everything right now until proper forensic audit is done.”
And that was exactly the same week Dangote’s lawyer, Ogwu Onoja SAN, walked into ICPC headquarters with a petition dated December 16, 2025.
In the letter, Dangote is asking the anti-corruption agency to arrest, investigate, and prosecute Farouk for allegedly living far above his legitimate income as a public officer. The billionaire is not mincing words. He wants answers.
By Tuesday evening, ICPC had already responded.
Their spokesperson, John Okor Odey, released a short statement:
“The Commission confirms receipt of the petition from Alhaji Aliko Dangote through his lawyer against the CEO of NMDPRA, Engr. Ahmed Farouk. The matter will be thoroughly investigated.”
That statement is calm. But make no mistake – heads are going to roll.
People close to the Dangote Refinery say the billionaire has been quiet for months, watching how certain officials were allegedly frustrating the takeoff of his $20 billion refinery. They say this petition is not just about bridging claims. It’s the final straw.
Meanwhile, oil marketers are divided. Some are quietly celebrating because they have been waiting years for these payments. Others are scared. If ICPC digs deep, many names may surface. And not all of them are in NMDPRA.
As at Wednesday morning, Farouk has not made any public statement. His media team only said “the Authority will respond at the appropriate time.” But the pressure is mounting.
Nigerians are tired. They want to know why a country that produces crude oil still suffers like this. They want to know why bridging claims that were meant to make fuel cheaper have instead become a cash cow for a few connected people.
For now, the ball is in ICPC’s court.
One thing is clear: Aliko Dangote does not write petitions for fun. When he moves, something usually happens.
Let’s watch this space.
