Court rejects bid to discharge Mustapha Hamid, seven others in extortion case
A court has dismissed an application seeking to discharge former Chief Executive Officer of the National Petroleum Authority, Dr Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, and seven others standing trial for alleged extortion.
Dr Abdul-Hamid and the other accused persons are before the court over claims that they extorted GH¢291.574 million and $332,407.47 from bulk oil transporters and oil distributors.
At proceedings on Tuesday, lawyers for the accused relied on a recent High Court ruling which held that the Office of the Special Prosecutor lacks independent prosecutorial powers, arguing that the case should therefore be struck out and the accused discharged.
The application was opposed by Adelaide Kobiri-Woode, a Principal Prosecutor at the Office of the Special Prosecutor, who maintained that the Office derives its prosecutorial authority from its enabling laws, which remain valid and have not been revoked or set aside.
Presiding judge, Justice Francis Achibonga, rejected the request, noting that multiple legal proceedings concerning the prosecutorial mandate of the Office of the Special Prosecutor are ongoing, including a matter before the Supreme Court.
He subsequently adjourned the case to May 26, by which time there may be clarity on the legal questions surrounding the Office’s authority to prosecute.
On April 15, a High Court in Accra, presided over by Justice Eugene Nyante Nyadu, ruled that the Office of the Special Prosecutor cannot initiate or conduct prosecutions without prior authorisation from the Attorney General. The court directed the Attorney General to take over all such cases until the required authorisation is obtained and also set aside convictions secured by the Office, ordering fresh trials.
The Office of the Special Prosecutor has charged Dr Abdul-Hamid, seven individuals and three companies with 54 counts, including extortion by a public officer, conspiracy to commit money laundering and money laundering.
The individuals include Jacob Kwamina Amuah, Coordinator of the Unified Petroleum Pricing Fund at the National Petroleum Authority; Wendy Newman, a staff member of the Authority; Albert Ankrah and Isaac Mensah, Directors of Kel Logistics Limited; Bright Bediako-Mensah, a Director of Kel Logistics Limited and Kings Energy Limited; and Kwaku Aboagye Acquaah, Director of Kings Energy Limited.
The companies involved in the case are Propnest Limited, Kel Logistics Limited and Kings Energy Limited. Another suspect, Osei Tutu Adjei, a Director of Kel Logistics Limited, is currently at large.
According to the Office of the Special Prosecutor, the charges stem from investigations launched in late 2024 into alleged unlawful activities involving the diversion of public funds and collusion with oil marketing and bulk distribution firms.
Prosecution documents indicate that between 2022 and December 2024, Dr Abdul-Hamid, Jacob Kwamina Amuah and Wendy Newman allegedly used their positions at the National Petroleum Authority to establish an extortion scheme through which they unlawfully collected GH¢291,574,087.19 and $332,407.47 from oil transporters and marketing companies.
During the proceedings, Albert Ankrah and Isaac Mensah entered into an agreement with the Office of the Special Prosecutor to serve as prosecution witnesses against the remaining accused persons.