- Lamuwa: It’s fabricated lies …because I insist on Service Rules barring her from Ambitious, monetary Excesses
- Minister’s PA: It’s a lie…Lamuwa Made Inappropriate Advances at me
By Abiola Olawale
The suspended permanent secretary of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Adamu Ibrahim Lamuwa and a personal political aide to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mrs. Simisola O. Fajemirokun-Ajayi, are currently stacked in a war of words over allegations and counter allegations over a sexual harassment scandal presently rocking the Ministry.
Lamuwa came under public scrutiny when the Law firm of Femi Falana, a Senior Advocate o Nigeria(SAN) and radical Lagos lawyer wrote a petition against him, alleging sexual assault against Mrs Fajimirokun-Ajayi, to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Tuggar. The minister then conveyed the petition to the HoS for further action.
Consequent upon receipt of the Minister’s letter and an accompanying petition against Lamuwa, from the Law firm of Mr Femi Falana,(SAN), the Head of Service of the Federation, Folashade Yemi-Esan raised a high-level probe panel to investigate the grave allegations and come up with far-reaching recommendations.
However, Lamuwa has, in his own submission, refuted the accusations of sexual harassment made by the political aide(PA)at the Minister of Foreign Affairs office, Mrs. Simisola O. Fajemirokun-Ajayi, saying that the allegations are an attempt to tarnish his integrity, character, and hard earned image.
In a responding letter filed by the Permanent Secretary’s legal representative, Audu Anuga, a long-standing Senior Advocate of Nigeria(SAN), Lamuwa said his stance on financial prudence and adherence to due process resulted in discord with Fajemirokun-Ajayi, who later accused him of sexual harassment.
Lamuwa revealed that the real trouble started when he declined unlawful requests by Fajemirokun-Ajayi to access certain ministry documents that were too sensitive for her clearance level as a political appointee.This is because by the Foreign Service laws and rules, all political aides in the ministry are barred from having access to policy files, and also acting on behalf of the MFA.
According to him, the Foreign Service is a very sensitive, peculiar Service, which is why since the time of Prime Minister Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa, the first Foreign minister of Nigeria, the RULES have remained grand norms! For instance, only Foreign Service officers because of their training are allowed to access these sensitive policy files, documents, and carry out certain representational roles on behalf of the Ministry of foreign affairs as in other Foreign services worldwide.
According to him, he has tried to explain these rules to the aide to the Minister severally but she has been ceaseless in her demands.
He also mentioned that he has served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for over three decades, and has never received a query or report concerning issues of harassment throughout the period.
The letter partly reads: “We wish to state categorically that our client has never made any sexual advances towards Mrs Simisola O. Fajemirokun-Ajayi, who he is aware is a married woman, neither has he ever made suggestive comments or innuendos that requested any form of untoward relationship between himself and her.
“Our client distinctly recalls the events that took place at the ministry’s retreat on October u Mrs Simisola O. Fajemirokun-Ajayi claims that he invited her to his room. Our client states categorically that, he never made such an invitation and that his only communication with Mrs Fajemirokun-Ajayi, which was an overt one, was where he checked on her, as he did to all participants on whether they had been well-lodged in their hotels.
“He further recalls that the instance where he spoke of her as a nursing mother, during the same retreat was in a colloquial conversation they were having with other participants, where one participant even responded jokingly that when a woman says ‘her baby’ it could mean either her husband or one of her children, of which he innocuously joked asking ‘how big is the baby?’ Our client maintains that those conversations were made jokingly and sees their misinterpretation as malicious and with ill intent.
“Our client also maintains that it is an absurdity for Mrs Fajemirokun-Ajayi to claim that he invited her to Hong Kong, given that the conversation they were both having was on how Honk Kong had digitised its work processes as far back as 1999. Our client wonders how such a conversation became interpreted as an invitation for her to travel alongside himself knowing fully well that she is an aide to the minister. How can she possibly leave the minister to follow the permanent secretary, on a vacation? Would that not be the height of delusion for the one requesting, as well as the one heeding the request?
“It is clear that the minister’s aide has misinterpreted ordinary conversations, made openly and in the presence of other participants, for untoward intentions. We believe that these allegations are directly tied to our client’s firm objections raised regarding improper requests that Mrs Fajemirokun-Ajayi made, particularly regarding financial matters in the ministry.
“For example, Mrs Fajemirokun-Ajayi made a trip to the World Economic Forum (Davos), for which she sought reimbursement from the ministry. Our client firmly explained to her that while the ministry may look at avenues to refund her expenses, it is not the appropriate process for a trip to be made without approval, and then funded with taxpayers’ money.
“Further to this, is the fact of Mrs Fajemirokun-Ajayi’s unfamiliarity with civil service rules and processes where she had requested from our client access to policy files and even financial records of high-level activities of the ministry. By no means, should the permanent secretary, as chief accounting officer of the ministry provide such sensitive documents to an aide of the minister, worse via a WhatsApp chat. There are due processes in government, and they must be followed.
“We must emphasise that Mrs Fajemirokun-Ajayi is a political appointee and not a civil servant. Thus, matters of finance and policy are out of bounds for her in this instance.
“It is crucial to mention that our client, in all his 32 years of service in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, never received a query nor a report against him bordering on harassment, let alone, sexual harassment. In the course of this period, our client has served in Hong Kong, Canada, Saudi Arabia, Syria and more recently, Senegal, and there has never been a negative report on his conduct in any of these countries.”
It would be recalled that Fajemirokun-Ajayi, in her petition against Lamuwa dated May 29, 2024, and filed by the Law firm of Femi Falana, SAN, had detailed multiple instances of alleged sexual harassment purportedly perpetrated by Lamuwa.
In the petition, Fajemirokun-Ajayi detailed how Lamuwa allegedly made inappropriate sexual advances towards her, urging her to join him in his hotel room, during a policy retreat held on October 7, 2023.
The petition reads in part further: “On November 10, 2023: our client went to Amb. Ibrahim Lamuwa’s conference room where he was working out to discuss the plans to digitize the Ministry. Amb. Ibrahim Lamuwa invited her for a meeting later that afternoon with a team from Galaxy Backbone. During the conversation, Amb, Ibrahim Lamuwa requested our client take a voyage with him to Hong Kong. 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 informed 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 3:41 pm 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”.
The petitioner’s lawyer narrated further:” Our client again hurriedly left the Permanent Secretary’s office for fear of being molested after repeated demands of a tight hug from him as he had missed seeing her.
“It is pertinent to state that a discreet investigation conducted by our client revealed that more women are with unadorned allegations against the Permanent Secretary, particularly female directors who were almost raped in the hotel rooms and female foreign service officers who have been harassed, threatened and removed from trips, postings and other privileges because they declined to comply with Amb. Ibrahim Lamuwa’s uncontrolled sexual urges.
“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.”
The New Diplomat reports that Section 351 of the Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria states clearly that, “Any person who unlawfully assaults another is guilty of a misdemeanour, and is liable if no greater punishment is provided, to imprisonment for one year.”
Similarly, Section 352 of the same constitution explicitly added:” Any person who assaults another with intent to have carnal knowledge of him or her against the order of nature is guilty of a felony and is liable to imprisonment for fourteen years.”
Again, Section 360 states:” Any person who unlawfully and indecently assaults a womannnn or girl is guilty of a misdemeanour and is liable to imprisonment for two years.”
