PETER O’NEILL TO KEEP FIGHTING ARREST WARRANT

Papua New Guinea’s Prime Minister Peter O’Neill has indicated he will appeal a National Court decision to uphold the legality of an arrest warrant issued for him in 2014.

The court this week dismissed a challenge to the legality of the warrant obtained by anti-fraud Police who have been investigating Mr O’Neill over alleged illegal state payments to a law firm.

Mr O’Neill said he respected that the court made its decision on outstanding legal matters relating to the Paraka Lawyers legal fees matter. But he voiced disappointment with the ruling in light of what he described as “various inconsistencies with previous rulings and established precedents”, indicating he would appeal in a higher court. Earlier this week, Justice Collin Makail ruled that the challenge to the warrant, filed by the former Police Commissioner Geoffrey Vaki, was an abuse of court process.

He said the criminal process was about fairness and must be heard in a reasonable time frame, alluding to the series of legal challenges which have prevented the arrest warrant being executed for three years.

After this week’s court ruling, the head of the fraud squad, Mathew Damaru, explained that it was incumbent on the current Police commissioner Gary Baki to have the arrest warrant executed.

It was Mr Damaru, along with National Fraud and Anti-Corruption Directorate colleague Timothy Gitua, who originally obtained the warrant. “The case has been dragging on for three years. It’s created a perception that he’s guilty, that’s what he’s trying to suppress,” he said.