The Accra High Court has declined a request by lead counsel for former Chief Executive Officer of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, for a lengthy adjournment of the ongoing case involving alleged extortion in the petroleum sector.
Lead counsel, Joseph Kpemka, had urged the court to adjourn the proceedings on grounds including ill health, exhaustion and the upcoming Bar Conference.
The court, however, declined the application and directed the parties to return on Tuesday for the continuation of the case management conference.
Mr Kpemka, speaking to journalists after the proceedings, said the defence had attended court throughout the legal vacation and had previously sought arrangements to allow the matter to proceed during the period.
He said the defence team had made the application because some members of the legal team had been unwell and others were exhausted after what he described as a demanding legal year.
Counsel also cited the forthcoming Bar Conference and other professional commitments as factors behind the request for an adjournment.
According to him, the defence had hoped the court would grant the legal team a few weeks to recuperate before resuming the case in October.
The court, however, was not persuaded by the reasons advanced and directed the parties to appear the following day.
Mr Kpemka said the defence would comply with the court’s directive.
He maintained that the application was not intended to delay the proceedings but was based on what the defence considered legitimate concerns affecting counsel’s ability to continue with the case.
The lawyer said the issue of the health of members of the defence team was one of the principal considerations behind the request.
He also reiterated the importance of the Bar Conference scheduled for the following week, describing the defence’s request for additional time as reasonable in the circumstances.
Background to the case
Mustapha Abdul-Hamid, a former Minister for Information under the Akufo-Addo administration, was appointed Chief Executive Officer of the NPA in 2021.
He and seven other accused persons are standing trial over allegations that they extorted money from players within Ghana’s petroleum sector.
The accused persons previously applied to the court to strike out the charge sheet. The application was dismissed, allowing the prosecution and defence to proceed with the pre-trial process.
The matter is currently at the case management stage.
The parties are expected to return to court on Tuesday for the continuation of the case management conference.