NPA case: 2 accused turn to prosecuting witnesses as OSP drops charges
By DL News
Published
2 min read
The two are Albert Ankrah, described as a director at KEL Logistics Unit, and Isaac Mensah of King’s Energy Limited, who had been listed as the fourth and fifth accused persons in the case.
The trial involving former National Petroleum Authority Chief Executive Mustapha Abdul-Hamid has taken a significant turn after the Office of the Special Prosecutor withdrew charges against two of the accused and converted them into prosecution witnesses.
The two are Albert Ankrah, described as a director at KEL Logistics Unit, and Isaac Mensah of King’s Energy Limited, who had been listed as the fourth and fifth accused persons in the case.
According to the prosecution, both men, through their lawyers, approached the OSP and indicated that they were prepared to cooperate with investigators and testify for the state.
That decision, prosecutors told the court, formed the basis for the withdrawal of the charges against them.
The development emerged during proceedings at Criminal Court Three of the Accra High Court, where the case is being heard before Justice Francis Apangar Achibonga.
The court is now expected to determine how the evidence of the two new state witnesses will fit into the prosecution’s case as the trial continues.
Despite that change, Mustapha Abdul-Hamid remains before the court and continues to face the charges against him. He has denied all wrongdoing.
The case has drawn considerable public attention because of the scale of the allegations and the number of officials and companies cited in the proceedings.
Dr Abdul-Hamid is being tried together with several co-accused on 54 counts, including extortion, abuse of public office and money laundering.
The prosecution alleges that, between December 2022 and December 2024, the accused persons acted together to unlawfully obtain GH¢291,574,087.19 and US$332,407.47 from bulk oil transporters and oil marketing companies.
According to the state, the money was collected even though the accused allegedly had no lawful authority to demand it.
Other persons named in the case include Jacob Kwamina Amuah, former Coordinator of the Unified Petroleum Pricing Fund, Wendy Newman, Bright Bediako-Mensah, and Kwaku Aboagye Acquah.
The companies cited are Propnest Limited, KEL Logistics Limited and Kings Energy Limited.
The withdrawal of charges against the two former accused marks a major shift in the prosecution’s strategy and could prove pivotal as the trial moves forward.
