Court Adjourns Former NPA CEO Case over OSP Prosecutorial Status
The High Court has adjourned the trial against former Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, and others over alleged extortion.
In court on April 21, 2026, the OSP was refused an invitation to discharge the accused persons.
Citing a High Court ruling dated April 15, 2026, the Court stated that the Office had no prosecutorial powers.
The Court noted the various ongoing proceedings relating to the OSP’s prosecutorial mandate and adjourned the trial to 26 May 2026, by which time there may be greater clarity.
Counsel for the accused argued that the OSP lacks prosecutorial authority to bring the charges.
Meanwhile, the OSP maintained that it possesses such authority under its enabling statutes, which are in force and operation and have not been repealed, amended, revoked or struck down.
Case
Former National Petroleum Authority (NPA) boss Mustapha Abdul-Hamid is standing trial with nine co-accused persons, including senior officials and three companies, on 54 criminal counts ranging from extortion to abuse of public office and money laundering.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor filed the charges over an alleged conspiracy to extort more than GH¢291 million from players in the petroleum sector.
Prosecutors say the accused persons, acting together between December 2022 and December 2024, illegally obtained GH¢291,574,087.19 and US$332,407.47 from bulk oil transporters and oil marketing companies despite knowing they had no lawful authority to do so.
Charged alongside Mustapha are Jacob Kwamina Amuah, former Coordinator of the Unified Petroleum Pricing Fund (UPPF); Wendy Newman, an NPA audit staffer; Albert Ankrah; Isaac Mensah; Bright Bediako-Mensah; and Kwaku Aboagye Acquah.
The three companies cited in the case are Propnest Limited, KEL Logistics Limited, and Kings Energy Limited.
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