Court revises bail conditions for Mustapha Hamid, nine others in OSP case

A High Court in Accra has altered the bail regime for former National Petroleum Authority (NPA) chief executive Dr Mustapha Hamid and nine other accused persons being prosecuted over alleged extortion involving oil marketing companies.

Instead of reporting to the court’s registrar as previously ordered, the accused will now be supervised more directly under a revised monitoring framework.

The ten accused were granted bail on 9 December 2025, with a requirement to report periodically to the Registrar of the Court. The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) later applied to vary that arrangement, arguing that reporting to the lead investigator would provide tighter oversight and better enforcement during the pre-trial phase.

The court agreed and amended the terms.

Under the updated order:

Before trial begins: the accused must report to the lead investigator on the first and third Tuesdays of every month.

The lead investigator must file a monthly compliance report to the court.

Once trial starts: reporting drops to the first Tuesday of each month, to dovetail with court sittings.

The court also directed that a stop list be activated at all points of entry and exit, meaning the accused cannot leave Ghana without prior authorisation.

Overall, the revised terms are intended to tighten control risk, keep the defendants within jurisdiction, and maintain a clear compliance trail as the case transitions toward trial.