The National Court at Waigani has adjourned an application sought by heads of the National Fraud and Anti-Corruption Directorate to dismiss the stay on the Prime Minister Peter O’Neill’s arrest to next year.
Justice Collin Makail adjourned the matter from Thursday (Dec 10) for listing on February 2, 2016. He also indicated that the substantive matter which is the trial review into the manner in which that arrest warrant was issued by the District Court will return on that date.
Matthew Damaru and Timothy Gitua in their capacities as the director and deputy director of the National Fraud and Anti-Corruption Directorate are seeking to set aside the stay on Prime Minister Peter O’Neill’s arrest.
This application is sought through a further amended notice of motion the police officers filed on October 23 this year.
The first part of the motion has been in the favour of Damaru and Gitua who were allowed to join in the judicial review proceeding (OS JR 485 of 2014) on December 2.
The proceeding filed by former Police Commissioner Geoffrey Vaki in June 2014 was for a judicial review to be conducted over the manner in which the warrant of arrest was obtained from the District Court against the Prime Minister.
Gitua was instrumental in obtaining that arrest warrant from the Waigani District Court.
What now remains in the further amended notice of motion filed by Damaru and Gitua’s lawyers on October 23, 2015 is the application to set aside the stay that was issued against the Prime Minister’s arrest.
That stay against Mr O’Neill’s arrest was issued by the National Court after it granted leave for a judicial review to be conducted on the manner in which that warrant was issued by the District Court.
They will also be seeking to dismiss the entire proceeding (OS JR 485 of 2014) for being an abuse of process.