By Issah Olegor
new twist has emerged in the ongoing case between the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) and former National Petroleum Authority (NPA) officials, as a lawyer representing one of the accused persons was arrested and detained on Monday after a brief encounter with an OSP official.
The incident, which occurred at the OSP headquarters in Accra, has sparked widespread outrage among sections of the legal community and political observers, who describe it as another worrying indication of escalating tension between the OSP and defence lawyers in the high-profile NPA corruption case involving Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid and nine others.
The Arrest
Lawyer Israel Ackah, who represents one of the accused persons in the ongoing NPA case, was reportedly arrested on the orders of Sammy Darko, a senior officer at the OSP and a close aide to the Special Prosecutor, Kissi Agyebeng.
According to eyewitness accounts, Mr. Ackah had accompanied his client to the OSP office to sign documents as part of bail conditions granted by the Accra High Court.
However, on their way out, the lawyer is said to have made a casual remark to Sammy Darko, telling him he had been following his social media updates on the NPA case.
The seemingly harmless comment reportedly infuriated the OSP officer, who allegedly ordered the lawyer’s immediate arrest and detention for interrogation.
Sources close to the development say the lawyer refused to answer questions during the interrogation, insisting that he had committed no offence and was acting within his professional rights.
OSP’s Controversial Conduct Under Scrutiny
This latest episode has drawn renewed criticism toward the OSP’s leadership under Kissi Agyebeng, particularly regarding how investigations and public communication are being managed.
Critics accuse the OSP of adopting “intimidatory and unprofessional tactics”, often resorting to social media updates and public insinuations to frame suspects before court processes are concluded.
In the same NPA case, the OSP has claimed that assets valued at over GH¢100 million have been seized in connection with alleged money laundering and extortion.
The office stated that the seizure forms part of a wider probe into what it describes as a “grand financial loss to the petroleum sector” amounting to US$290 million.
However, lawyers for Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, one of the key accused persons and former CEO of the NPA, have vehemently denied any link between their client and the said assets.
OSP vs. Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid
The tension between the OSP and Dr. Hamid’s legal team began after a viral video surfaced showing the former NPA boss casually remarking that his case was “useless.”
The OSP later cited that video in a public statement to restate its case and outline a list of assets it had seized.
Among the listed assets were:
Sino trucks and fuel tankers, including 2024-registered units
Articulator heads and trailers
A Mercedes-Benz GLE 450 SUV
Undeveloped lands in Accra
A studio apartment at Atlas Suites, Roman Ridge
Over 18 parcels of land still under court confirmation
But the OSP did not directly name the owners of these properties, sparking public speculation that they were linked to Dr. Abdul-Hamid.
His lawyers quickly issued a counter-statement asserting that “Dr. Mustapha Abdul-Hamid neither owns, partly owns, nor has any connection with any of the assets published by the OSP.” They further stated that their client had only two declared properties — one in Tamale and another in Accra — both lawfully declared to the OSP in his asset filings.
Following public backlash, the OSP’s Director of Communications, Sammy Darko, later clarified that the office had never stated that the assets belonged to Dr. Hamid, suggesting that the public might have misinterpreted the original post.
Political And Legal Reactions
The arrest of lawyer Israel Ackah and the OSP’s handling of the NPA case have provoked sharp reactions from several political and civil society commentators.
A pro-government activist, P.K. Sarpong, in a post titled “Whispers from the Corridors of the Thinking Place,” accused the OSP of engaging in “media theatrics” and turning a serious anti-corruption mandate into what he described as “a farcical comedy for public entertainment.”
He alleged that Kissi Agyebeng and his aide, Sammy Darko, were running the OSP “with ego rather than evidence,” adding that the pair had “insisted that Dr. Hamid owns multimillion-cedi assets without providing any direct proof.”
“If they truly believe the assets they published belong to Mustapha Hamid, they should link them to him directly. None of those published assets belongs to Dr. Hamid. They should prove me wrong,” Sarpong challenged.
