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June 12, 2024
Lamuwa denied having harassing the ministerial aide sexually, stating that his insistence on financial prudence and due process led to his friction with Mrs Fajemirokun-Ajayi.
Ambassador Adamu Ibrahim Lamuwa, the suspended Permanent Secretary in the Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs, has responded to allegations of sexual harassment by an aide to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mrs. Simisola O. Fajemirokun-Ajayi.
His reaction came in a response provided by sources close to the permanent secretary's legal representative led by Audu Anuga (SAN).
Lamuwa denied having harassed the ministerial aide sexually, stating that his insistence on financial prudence and due process led to his friction with Mrs Fajemirokun-Ajayi.
“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,” a part of the statement read.
According to the statement, the permanent secretary’s jocular remarks and ordinary conversations with the petitioner were misinterpreted by the aide.
“Our client distinctly recalls the events that took place at the Ministry’s Retreat on October 7th 2023 where 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, like 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,” the statement noted.
Denying that Lamuwa requested the minister’s aide to travel with him to Hong Kong, the legal representative described the insinuation that such a request was made as absurd.
The statement said, “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 to the request?”
The statement further stated that the Mrs. Fajemirokun-Ajayi had misinterpreted the ordinary conversations they had in public, and that this was tied to the permanent secretary’s “objections raised regarding improper requests” from the minister’s aide.
“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 to financial matters in the Ministry.
“For example, Mrs. Fajemirokun-Ajayi made a trip to the World Economic Forum (Davos), of which she sought a reimbursement from the Ministry for. 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 an approval, and then funded with taxpayers’ money after the fact.”
The statement further accused Mrs. Fajemirokun-Ajayi of being unfamiliar with Civil Service Rules and processes, alleging that she had requested for access to certain documents that were too sensitive for her clearance level as a political appointee.
It said, “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.
“All these, seem to have angered Mrs Simisola O. Fajemirokun-Ajayi, so much that she has taken her offence to the level of concocting stories in order to tarnish our client’s image and character.”
Lamuwa’s legal representative stated that he had served in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for over three decades, and had never received a query or report bordering on issues of harassment throughout the period.
It further expressed confidence that Lamuwa would be vindicated.
SaharaReporters earlier on Wednesday reported that Lamuwa had been suspended by the Office of the Head of Service for alleged sexual harassment.
According to Daily Sun, a high-ranking source within the ministry, disclosed that Lamuwa was requested to step down by the Office of the Head of Service. He was given until last Friday to relinquish his position, and Benaoyagha Okoyen, the former Nigerian Ambassador to Cuba, took over as acting head on Monday.
“If they don’t try to play politics based on where he is coming from, if the rules are properly applied, it is dismissal because it is gross misconduct,” the source was quoted as saying.
SaharaReporters on Monday broke the news that Nigeria's foreign affairs minister Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar had written to the Head of Service of the Federation, Dr Folasade Yemi-Esan, officially complaining about allegations of sexual harassment against Lamuwa.
In a petition obtained by SaharaReporters on Monday, a married employee of the ministry, Mrs Fajemirokun Ajayi, disclosed the excesses of the permanent secretary to Ambassador Tuggar, through her lawyer, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), and urged the minister to investigate the permanent secretary.
She asked that disciplinary actions should be taken against Lamuwa to serve as a deterrent to others.
The petition dated May 29, 2024 and titled: "Request For An Investigation Of Amb. Ibrahim Lamuwa's Conducts Of Sexual Harassment At The Place Of Work, Abuse Of Office Official Intimidation And Discrimination," was signed by Adebayo A. Oniyelu LP for Falana & Falana's.
Ajayi recounted the Permanent Secretary's history of harassment, recalling that the minister had previously intervened and she had been assured that the behavior would cease. However, in May, the Permanent Secretary, Ambassador Ibrahim Lamuwa, allegedly resumed his inappropriate behavior, creating a hostile and uncomfortable work environment for the counsel's client and other ministry staff.
Ajayi’s counsel recounted one of the instances saying, "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 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.”