The Chief Justice, Paul Baffoe-Bonnie, has designated the Achimota Court to handle cases involving the diversion of petroleum products, in a significant move to strengthen the prosecution of offenders in Ghana’s downstream petroleum sector.
The Chief Executive Officer of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Godwin Edudzi Tamakloe, disclosed this when he appeared before Parliament’s Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Thursday, October 15, 2026, to respond to the 2025 Auditor-General’s Reports.
“One of the things that we have done is to reach out to the Chief Justice for a specialised court to deal with such recalcitrant petroleum service providers. Thankfully, the Chief Justice has designated a court for us,” Mr Tamakloe told the committee.
Background: A Sector Plagued by Diversion
The designation of a specialised court follows persistent audit findings of widespread irregularities in the downstream petroleum sector. The 2025 Auditor-General’s Report revealed that 9.78 million litres of petrol and diesel were diverted between 2024 and 2025 across 582 confirmed cases. The audit also found that approximately 87 million litres of petrol were distributed without the mandatory fuel marking in 2025, representing a potential GH¢78.6 million loss to the Unified Petroleum Pricing Fund (UPPF).
Annual discrepancies between marked and distributed petroleum products stood at 83.1 million litres in 2023, 214.5 million litres in 2024, and 64.9 million litres in 2025. Additionally, as of April 2026, only 2,514 of 4,904 Bulk Road Vehicles (BRVs) had valid licences, raising concerns about unlicensed tankers operating in the sector.
The Legal Framework and Penalties
Under the National Petroleum Authority Act’s relevant regulations, L.I. 2251, a person who diverts petroleum products commits an offence and is liable on summary conviction to a fine of not less than 2,500 penalty units and not more than 5,000 penalty units, or to a term of imprisonment of not less than two years and not more than five years, or both.
With one penalty unit valued at GH¢12, the fines translate to between GH¢30,000 and GH¢60,000, alongside the possibility of a custodial sentence.
NPA’s Enforcement Commitment
Mr Tamakloe emphasised that the NPA has mechanisms in place to ensure compliance and recover monies owed to the Authority. “In fact, there is a sanctioning mechanism. It is one of the sources of raising revenue for the running of the Authority as well, so I need that money, and I follow it religiously,” he stated.
The NPA has also deployed technological tools, including Automatic Tank Gauging Systems, Electronic Cargo Tracking Systems, and an Integrated Enterprise Relational Data Management System (ERDMS), to prevent product diversion and ensure system integrity.
Reactions
The designation of the Achimota Court is expected to provide a dedicated venue for handling petroleum diversion cases, facilitating faster prosecution and enforcement of the regulations. The NPA has previously expressed confidence that decisive actions against illicit fuel trade will serve as a strong deterrent to individuals and groups engaged in illegal activities.
