The protracted legal battle between jailed boss of the Ghana National Petroleum Corporation, Tsatsu Tsikata, and the state has taken a new twist, with the Attorney General (AG) seeking more years in prison for Tsatsu. Tsatsu Tsikata was handed a five-year sentence for willfully causing financial loss to the state, but the AG says the sentence was too lenient considering the gravity of the offence and has therefore applied for the extension of the sentence. Speaking on the Super Morning Show with Kojo Oppong Nkrumah on Tuesday, Mr. Tony Lithur, a private legal practitioner and a friend to Tsikata, confirmed and condemned the action taken by the Attorney General. According to him, the action typifies the vindictive and personal vendetta of the Executive, to have Tsikata jailed at all cost. “This particular process just emphasises the personalised nature of this prosecution, the malice, the vindictiveness behind it.” Tony Lithur who is also a member of the ‘Free Tsatsu Movement,’ admitted that the law allows for the Attorney General to appeal for an enhanced sentence, but was quick to add that Tsatsu needed not to have been jailed in the first place, and for the Attorney General to apply for an extension was only a “reaction to a legal system that has become warped.” While maintaining the innocence of Tsikata, Mr. Lithur accused the President and the Attorney General of interfering in the Judiciary, all in an orchestrated attempt to have Tsikata jailed. An NPP Parliamentary Candidate for the Abuakwa Constituency, also a legal practitioner, Atta Akyea, reacting to the action of the Attorney General, said considering the amount lost to the state the five years sentence was fair and enough. He disagreed with the AG that Tsikata’s case was grievous and needed an enhanced sentence, saying the state could minimise the extent of loss Tsatsu had caused the state. He however agreed that the A-G reserved the right to appeal against the sentence if he felt dissatisfied with it. Author: Nathan Gadugah