Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Petroleum Authority (NPA), Godwin Edudzi Tamakloe, has warned that individuals captured on video siphoning fuel from accident tankers will be handed over to the Ghana Police Service for arrest and prosecution.
Speaking at the second edition of the Downstream Compliance Workshop at the NPA headquarters on Wednesday, April 22, 2026, he cautioned that attempting to collect spilled fuel during accidents can lead to fatal consequences and must be stopped.
According to him, the Authority has begun reviewing video recordings from such incidents and forwarding them to the Ghana Police Service to identify suspects for arrest and prosecution.
“It’s unfortunate our people are doing this, we have also decided that all the accidents, we are picking the video recording and giving it to the Ghana Police to identify the known faces for arrest and prosecution.
“Because we have seen that in particular communities from Nsawan to Kumasi anytime it happens within that stretch, there are some gangs who do those operations and so we are also getting the police to monitor and effect the arrest for the purpose of prosecution,” he said.
He explained that in many tanker accidents, people rush from nearby communities with gallons to scoop fuel leaking from the damaged tanker putting themselves and others at risk.
He also called on the media to intensify public education, urging citizens to stay away from accident scenes involving fuel tankers, as approaching such situations is a life-threatening risk.
“So for the media here we want you to use your platform to help us educate our people that when you see a tanker accident, please, please, please don’t go near it,” he added.
Source: Bertina Ofosu
