The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has strongly responded to comments made by former Chief Executive of the National Petroleum Authority (NP
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) has strongly responded to comments made by former Chief Executive of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, describing the ongoing criminal proceedings against him as “useless.”
The OSP’s official Facebook page on Tuesday night posted a series of photographs and statements aimed at reinforcing the seriousness of the case and countering what it called a “deliberate attempt to mislead the public.”
The reaction follows a video that surfaced earlier in the day, showing Dr. Abdul-Hamid emerging from the High Court in Accra and dismissing the case against him as baseless and politically motivated.
But the OSP’s post sought to remind Ghanaians of the gravity of the charges pending before the court and the evidence underpinning them.
Dr. Abdul-Hamid, who headed the NPA between 2021 and 2024, is currently standing trial for multiple corruption-related offences, including conspiracy to commit extortion, extortion by a public officer, using public office for profit, and money laundering.
The charges stem from what prosecutors describe as an elaborate scheme between December 2022 and December 2024 involving the extortion of GH¢291,574,087.19 and US$332,407.47 from bulk oil transporters and oil marketing companies.
According to the charge sheet filed by the OSP, the former NPA boss and two of his close associates are accused of demanding and receiving unlawful payments from petroleum sector players under the guise of official duties.
The prosecution alleges that Dr. Abdul Hamid unlawfully enriched himself with GH¢24 million and GH¢230,000, while investigations also uncovered GH¢15,343,251.29 suspected to be proceeds of crime, far exceeding his legitimate income.
The Special Prosecutor’s office revealed that it has so far seized and frozen assets valued at more than GH¢100 million and over US$100,000 linked to the accused, with additional assets under active tracing.
The OSP maintains that its actions are backed by solid documentary, financial, and transaction evidence connecting Dr. Hamid and other accused persons to the alleged offences.
The case first came to public attention in July 2025 when the OSP filed sweeping criminal charges against Dr. Abdul-Hamid and nine others, including senior officials of the NPA and directors of private logistics firms such as Kel Logistics and Kings Energy Ltd. One of the accused, Osei Tutu Adjei, remains at large and has been declared wanted.
In response, Dr. Hamid’s legal team, led by Hanifa Yahaya, dismissed the charges as fabricated, arguing that their client has not been served any formal charge sheet.
They have accused the OSP of inconsistency—shifting its allegations from embezzlement of GH¢1.3 billion to procurement breaches, and now to extortion and money laundering.
The defence insists that Dr. Abdul-Hamid’s tenure at the NPA was marked by transparency and accountability, pointing to growth in the Unified Petroleum Pricing Fund (UPPF) from GH¢53 million in 2021 to GH¢1.1 billion by 2024.
However, the OSP argues that the scale of the alleged offences represents one of the most significant corruption cases in the petroleum sector history.
The office insists the prosecution is a test of the resolve to ensure that “no public official, regardless of status, is above the law.”
The case is scheduled to continue on Thursday, November 13, 2025, before the Criminal High Court in Accra, where both parties are expected to advance their legal arguments.
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