Engr. Farouk Ahmed, the embattled Chief Executive Officer of the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Petroleum Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA), is at the center of a major controversy after reports emerged that he fled Nigeria under the guise of performing Hajj but instead traveled to a private island in the United States to evade arrest by anti-corruption agencies.
The Coalition for Public Accountability (COPA) revealed that Ahmed’s escape is a deliberate attempt to avoid imminent prosecution following allegations of corruption, abuse of office, and unexplained foreign education expenses for his children totaling over $5 million. The group stated that credible intelligence confirms Ahmed is not in Saudi Arabia or the UAE as publicly claimed but is hiding in the US to frustrate ongoing investigations by the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), the Code of Conduct Bureau (CCB), and the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC).
COPA President Comrade Ibrahim Adekunle condemned Ahmed’s actions as a desperate flight from justice by a high-ranking official who abused public trust. Adekunle highlighted that the scandal goes beyond financial mismanagement, involving coordinated misuse of public office to fund a lavish lifestyle and elite foreign education for Ahmed’s children through proxies and undeclared accounts.
Ahmed had previously faced intense scrutiny after protests and a petition from the Concerned Lawyers Forum accused him of sponsoring the foreign education of four children through untraceable channels inconsistent with his official earnings. The petition also raised concerns about conflict of interest, citing Ahmed’s alleged influence in securing employment for his son at Oando PLC, a company regulated by NMDPRA.
Adekunle called on Nigerian authorities to activate international extradition protocols and urged cooperation with Interpol and the U.S. Department of Justice to locate Ahmed and bring him back to face justice. He also demanded the immediate freezing of all bank accounts and assets linked to Ahmed and his associates pending the conclusion of investigations.
This scandal has intensified public pressure on the Nigerian government to ensure transparency and accountability within national institutions, with calls for no individual to be above the law amid rising concerns over corruption in the petroleum sector.
