Nigeria’s Foreign Ministry Rocked by Sexual Harassment lawsuit
Permanent secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ibrahim Lamuwa has been suspended by the Office of the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation OHCSF) over sexual harassment.
Mr Lamuwa, who served as Nigeria’s Ambassador to Senegal with concurrent accreditation to Mauritania before he was appointed Permanent Secretary, was accused of sexually harassing Simisola Fajemirokun-Ajayi, an aide to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar.
Mrs Ajayi had in a petition, addressed to the Minister of Foreign Affairs Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar and signed by Adebayo A. Oniyelu Lp of Falana & Falana’s, titled “Request for an Investigation on Ibrahim Lamuwa’s conducts of sexual harassment at the place of work, abuse of office, official intimidation and Discrimination.”
In the petition filed by her lawyer, Mrs Ajayi mentioned previous instances of sexual attempts made by the Permanent Secretary towards her, and she mentioned that the acts had created an uncomfortable working environment for her. Following the petition laid, Tuggar lodged a letter of complaint addressed to the Head of the Civil Service of the Federation (Folasade Yemi-Esan) dated May 27, 2024, which led to the suspension of the permanent secretary pending the outcome of the investigation that will be carried out by a set investigative committee on the matter.
Furthermore, in response to the allegation levelled against him by Mrs Ajayi, the Permanent Secretary refuted claims of sexually harassing her and attributed the accusation to professional disagreement over financial accountability and due process within the scope of his official duties.
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Lamuwa explained that Mrs Ajayi accused him because he turned down her demands of sponsoring her official trip to Davos, Switzerland, and refused to grant her access to political files and financial records of the ministry.
As the investigation progresses, both sides await further developments to clarify the petition by Mrs Ajayi against Mr Lamuwa.
Content Credit/ Igbakuma Rita Doom
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