Lawyer grilled, starved, and slapped with bogus charges in explosive corruption probe
By Gifty Boateng
The Office of the Special Prosecutor (OSP) hotshot Sammy Darko turned a routine elevator ride into a nightmare on November 10, 2025, by bullying and detaining fellow lawyer Israel Ackah for nearly five hours all because Ackah dared mention Darko’s social media rants about the explosive National Petroleum Authority (NPA) scandal, where Ackah’s client Jacob Kwamina Amuah is fighting back with a bombshell lawsuit accusing the OSP of extortion and rights violations!
The outrageous drama kicked off around 11:50 a.m. in the OSP’s Accra headquarters, as Ackah escorted Amuah one of 10 suspects in the GHS 280 million extortion and money laundering racket to sign bail papers.
Fresh from the front desk, the pair stepped into the elevator with Darko, the OSP’s Director of Strategy, Research & Communication, who was ushering in others. Spotting Darko, Ackah politely identified himself as Amuah’s counsel and quipped about following his online blasts on the NPA case a comment that lit Darko’s fuse like dynamite.
Eyes blazing, Darko exploded: “I’m pissed; you cannot leave!” He blocked the elevator doors, trapped Ackah inside, and barked orders to an aide to drag him to the 5th floor for “further action.” Upstairs, the plot thickened: Darko dashed to the 6th floor, yelling into his phone that he’d been “attacked” a blatant lie that sent officers scrambling to prep the interrogation room. Led by burly investigator Albert Akrugu, a squad swooped in, hauling Ackah to a camera-monitored cell where he was grilled without charges, denied witnesses, and accused of “obstructing justice” when he pushed back as a fellow lawyer in the case.
For nearly two agonizing hours, Ackah sat isolated, pleading for lunch after his meds but Akrugu stonewalled, claiming bosses were in meetings. Amuah, tipped off, rallied two more lawyers from the NPA saga, but even they were caged, forbidden to fetch food without an escort.
By 3:00 p.m., the farce peaked: Akrugu returned, slapping a “threatening Darko” charge on Ackah, only to vanish again. Starving and surrounded by a growing posse of legal reinforcements, Ackah held firm until 4:15 p.m., when the goons finally relented, freeing him without a single paper filed a humiliating climbdown that reeks of overreach and vendetta.
Amuah, the NPA’s ex-Coordinator of the Unified Petroleum Pricing Fund (UPPF) and boss of shady firms like Propnest, Kel Logistics, and Kings Energy, isn’t taking this lying down. Arrested in bizarre February fashion after Special Prosecutor Kissi Agyebeng name-dropped him at a presser, he’s now suing the OSP, Attorney General,
National Investigations Bureau (NIB), and National Security plus lawyers Kwabena Adjei-Boahene and ex-NDC hopeful Edgar Asamoah Boateng for human rights abuses, including three days of unlawful detention without his chosen counsel.
Filed August 14 at Accra High Court, the suit demands massive damages for the ordeal, painting the OSP as extortionists in their own GHS 280 million probe.
That scandal?
A cesspool of corruption where ex-NPA CEO Mustapha Abdul-Hamid and nine others allegedly shook down bulk oil transporters and marketers for hundreds of millions in “fees,” laundering the loot through real estate and shell companies.
OSP ramped up charges from 25 to 54 in October, unearthing more dirt but now, with Darko’s elevator thuggery, the whole outfit looks like the real criminals! Amuah’s fight exposes the rot: how far will these “prosecutors” go to silence critics?
This latest incident exposes growing tensions inside the OSP and raises fresh questions about the conduct of officials investigating Ghana’s biggest petroleum corruption scandal.
As lawyers bay for an inquiry, Ghanaians are asking is the OSP fighting graft, or just grabbing power? This elevator showdown could be the spark that topples the house of cards.