The president of the Ghana Bar Association (GBA), Nii Osah Mills, has resigned over statements he made confirming claims of Tsatsu Tsikata, the jailed former chief executive of the state-owned Ghana National Petroleum Corporation (GNPC), that his trial was not fair.

Nii Osah resigned on Sunday night, apparently at the demand of the general council of the bar, ahead of the annual conference of the lawyers which opened in Kumasi on Monday.

The council said their president did not seek the consent of the general membership of the lawyers before saying that the bar had found evidence that Tsikata, a close ally of former president Jerry Rawlings, did not have a fair trial.

After Nii Osah made the statement in a radio interview last Thursday, he received threats on his cell phone and a warning that he should not come to Kumasi.

Tsatsu is serving a five-year jail term after being found guilty of wilfully causing financial loss to the state and misapplying public funds.

He has appealed against the sentence and also filed a writ that the trial judge was biased against him.

Friends of Tsatsu, who insist he is innocent, have formed the "Free Tsatsu Movement" which has been applying pressure for his release through forums, lectures and press statements.

Tsatsu, a law lecturer and an oil expert, is credited with laying the groundwork for Ghana’s oil discovery in commercial quantities while head of the GNPC.