PORT MORESBY – Rival elements of Papua New Guinea’s police force are in open confrontation in Port Moresby.

The head of Papua New Guinea’s anti-corruption squad was suspended from duty on Saturday, after he ordered the arrest of several high-profile government officials.

Matthew Damaru, who was served the suspension notice at his house on Saturday morning, on Monday successfully sought a court order to stop Papua New Guinea’s police commissioner from stopping him carrying out his duties.

But officers loyal to Police Commissioner Gari Baki have locked down Damaru’s office with chains and are not letting anyone near it.

Deputy police commissioner Raphael Huafolo led the police officers who locked up the fraud squad office and placed a troop carrier at its entrance.

Papua New Guinea police force factions are divided over the anti-corruption squad’s recent arrests of senior government officials, and the potential questioning and arrest of PNG Prime Minister Peter O’Neill.

Officers from Damaru’s National Fraud and Anti-Corruption Directorate last week arrested the PNG Attorney-General, Ano Pala, and a Supreme Court judge, Bernard Sakora, for corruption offences.

Justice Sakora was the judge that put a stay order over the prime minister’s alleged corruption case being taken into the courts.

The Directorate also arrested O’Neill’s lawyer, Tiffany Twivey Nonggorr, after almost two years of court battles to execute an arrest warrant for the prime minister himself.

Just when it seemed that they were zeroing in on O’Neill, Police Commissioner Baki suspended the fraud squad leader and his officers, accusing them of insubordination and other breaches.

Police Commissioner Baki denied the suspensions were due to the fraud squad’s recent arrest of Attorney-General Pala, Judge Sakora and the Prime Minister’s lawyer Twivey Nonggorr.

The Commissioner accused the fraud squad officers of trying to frustrate and prevent him from exercising his powers as Commissioner of Police to supervise the force.

“Damaru and his team’s modus operandi was to do investigations covertly and run to the courts to obtain arrest warrants in direct contradiction to set police practice and procedures as well as ruling of the Supreme Court,” Baki said.

Last week, the PNG Supreme Court dismissed an appeal by O’Neill and Finance Minister James Marape which had prevented police from investigating or executing an outstanding warrant of arrest for both men.

The decision allowed police to potentially arrest Marape and removed blanket restrictions on investigating or questioning O’Neill.

But a separate order still prevented officers from executing an arrest warrant for official corruption for O’Neill on the specific allegation that he authorised allegedly fraudulent payments to a law firm.

After the suspension order from Baki, Damaru’s lawyer Greg Egan obtained a stay order in the PNG National Court to effectively allow his client to continue in his role and protect his prosecution files.

But when Damaru returned to his headquarters, he found senior police there supervising the changing of the locks, with his own officers locked out.

On Friday, O’Neill told assembled media he would not be intimidated by the arrests of the prominent officials by the fraud squad.

“We cannot have a vigilante style of police operation in the country,” he said.

However, O’Neill said he did not want to be seen to be interfering in police work.

He said it would not be right for him to interfere, as the office of the police commissioner is independent.

“But let me say this again in so far as my own personal case is concerned – I am not going to allow the Office of the Prime Minister to be demeaned, questioned when there are false allegations, where there is no evidence of financial benefit or corruption that has given anybody any financial benefit and set a bad precedent for this country.”

O’Neill said a bad precedent could be set where the police could get a warrant “on anything” and arrest a prime minister.

“Of course nobody is above the law but you must have credible concrete evidence that these particular charges will stand in court,” he added. - PNC