Alleged Sexual Harassment: Foreign Affairs Minister Drags Perm Sec to HoSF

•As Falana insists on thorough investigation

Alex Enumah in Abuja

Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar, has reported his Permanent Secretary, Ambassador Ibrahim Lamuwa, to the Head of Service of the Federation (HoSF) over alleged sexual harassment of a female staff.

Tuggar, in a letter dated May 27, said he was compelled to write to enable the service take necessary action against Lamuwa.

A staff of the ministry, Mrs Simisola Fajemirokun-Ajayi, had accused the permanent secretary of harassing her sexually in the course of her duties.

Based on the complaint, Tuggar wrote to the HoSF, “I am compelled to write to inform you of a formal complaint against the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Ibrahim Adamu Lamuwa, on allegation of sexual harassment.”

He stated, “Bearing in mind the gravity of the matter, I feel it is necessary to draw your attention to it and ask that you handle it accordingly.”

Tuggar also assured the HoSF that he was available to provide any necessary assistance needed in trying to get to the root of the matter.

Meanwhile, rights activist and senior lawyer, Mr Femi Falana, SAN, called on Tuggar to ensure that a thorough investigation was made and necessary disciplinary action taken again the permanent secretary.

Falana, in a letter dated May 29, lamented that the alleged conduct of the permanent secretary had “created an unsafe and uncomfortable working environment for our client and other staff within your ministry due to the disturbing experiences and ordeals from the Permanent Secretary”.

According to the letter, Lamuwa had on October 7, 2023, during the first policy retreat to review President Bola Tinubu’s 4D policy, allegedly, approached Mrs Fajemirokun-Ajayi and inquired why she did not sleep at the hotel, and told her that he wanted her to come to his room after the event.

Falana stated in the letter, “Our client explained that she was a nursing mother and needed to go home to care for her baby. Dissatisfied with this, he reiterated his sexual advancement to our client by saying, is it a big baby or small baby – he suspects it’s a big baby and would like to find out so he can join.

“He, however, continued this line of inappropriate anecdotes throughout the retreat.”

Citing another occasion on November 10, 2023, the senior lawyer stated that his client had gone to Lamuwa’s conference room, where he was working out, to discuss the plans to digitise the ministry, and the permanent secretary then invited her for a meeting later that afternoon with a team from Galaxy Backbone.

He stated that during the conversation, Lamuwa requested Mrs Fajemirokun-Ajayi to embark on a voyage with him to Hong Kong.

Falana said regarding Lamuwa, “He further assured our client that our client’s life would never remain the same after the trip. Our client left the scene in utter shock and disappointment because of the awkwardness of the Permanent Secretary, Amb. Ibrahim Lamuwa’s discussion.

“While our client was about to excuse herself, Amb. Ibrahim Lamuwa thoughtlessly put his arms around our client’s arms and demanded a full frontal hug, which she rejected.

“The Honourable Minister would recall that sometime in March 2024, our client discussed with you concerning her safety for fear of not being raped by Amb. Ibrahim Lamuwa resulting from the consistent sexual harassment reported even as a married woman. Upon her unfortunate predicament with the Permanent Secretary, the Honourable Minister assured our client of a change of behaviour as he had confronted him.

“Sometime in May 2024, our client went to Amb. Ibrahim Lamuwa’s office under the Honourable Minister’s instruction at about 3:20 pm to inform the Permanent Secretary to contact his counterpart in the Ministry of Defence for the reports needed for the upcoming US trip.

“Upon arriving at the Permanent Secretary’s office, our client was informed that he was in his inner room. In her desperate attempt to avoid getting molested, our client returned to her office and interestingly, Amb. Ibrahim Lamuwa demanded that she return to his office at about 3:41pm on the same day.

“As instructed, our client immediately returned to see the Permanent Secretary. On arriving at the Permanent Secretary’s office, he commented that our client had not been to his office since February because she had grudges against him. He then offered our client to drink tea from his cup whilst forcefully putting his arms around our client’s and referring to her as a stubborn woman.

“Our client again hurriedly left the Permanent Secretary’s office for fear of not being molested after repeated demands of a tight hug from him as he had missed seeing her.”

Falana disclosed that a discreet investigation conducted by Mrs Fajemirokun-Ajayi revealed that more women were with unadorned allegations against the Permanent Secretary, particularly female directors, who were almost raped in the hotel rooms, and female foreign service officers, who had been harassed, threatened and removed from trips, postings and other privileges because they declined to comply with Lamuwa’s uncontrolled sexual urges.

The letter further stated, “Given the above-stated facts, the Honourable Minister would agree with us that sexual harassment, intimidation, oppression, discrimination and abuse of office in any form are unacceptable. They violate your ministry’s policies as well as ethical standards. It includes but is not limited to unwanted advances, inappropriate comments, and any behaviour that creates a hostile work environment.

“In the circumstances, we humbly request you to use your revered office to cause a detailed investigation to be carried out into the facts presented in this petition against Amb. Ibrahim Lamuwa and, if found liable, appropriate disciplinary actions should be meted against him as this will serve as a deterrent against future reoccurrence of such infractions.”