Dr. Mustapha Abdul Hamid, the former chief executive officer of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), has sued the Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) for GH¢20 million in defamation due to allegations that he embezzled GH¢1.3 billion from the Unified Petroleum Price Fund (UPPF).
Dr. Hamid is requesting a declaration that the remark made by the OSP during a media conference on February 12, 2025, was defamatory and had seriously harmed his reputation in a writ sent to the High Court (General Jurisdiction Division) in Accra on November 10, 2025.
The former NPA leader is requesting GH¢20 million in damages, an unconditional apology, and a retraction of the OSP’s declaration through his Lawyers at Applade Chambers.
Additionally, he is requesting a permanent order from the court to prevent the OSP and its representatives from making any more disparaging comments about him.
The statement of claim states that the OSP mentioned Dr. Hamid as one of four individuals under investigation when it declared in its February briefing that it had started looking into alleged corruption-related offenses involving the purported misappropriation of GH¢1.3 billion from the UPPF.
In his writ, Dr. Hamid said he had no involvement in any embezzlement and had never been informed of any investigation prior to the briefing.
He said that further events have demonstrated that no such misappropriation took place, characterizing the OSP’s allegations as malicious, unfounded, and unwarranted.
Dr. Hamid, the complainant, claimed that the OSP’s public statement had embarrassed him, upset him emotionally, and prevented him from pursuing career options such as consulting and giving lectures overseas.
He said that his standing as a politician, scholar, and well-liked public figure had been seriously damaged.
On February 17, 2025, Dr. Hamid’s attorneys wrote to the OSP requesting that the alleged defamatory comment be retracted.
The OSP reportedly wrote back, on February 19, 2025ordering Dr. Hamid to appear before it for questioning regarding the alleged mismanagement of the UPPF, rather than apologizing.
