The move comes following an exclusive report by SaharaReporters which exposed the alleged sexual misconduct of Yomi towards the daughter of a presidential aide under former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
In light of the allegations of sexual molestation levelled against a director identified as Yomi in the Universal Service Provision Fund, under the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC), the management is in the process of setting up a committee to investigate the case, SaharaReporters has learnt.
The move comes following an exclusive report by SaharaReporters which exposed the alleged sexual misconduct of Yomi towards the daughter of a presidential aide under former President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration.
Meanwhile, the identity of the victim’s father has been withheld to safeguard the victim’s identity.
Despite initial claims by sources of a potential cover-up within the NCC’s management, the victim has told SaharaReporters that the regulatory body has been supportive throughout her ordeal.
She said NCC’s management has been supportive from the beginning, adding that she believed the commission was in the process of establishing a committee to probe into the matter.
She said, “There is nothing about the management trying to cover up the situation. The management found out about what happened pretty late and since then it has been nothing short of supportive of me. Of course I was also away.
“This thing happened in May and I was away for three weeks and when I came back, that was when I had the conversation with the management and I had to travel again and I just came back.
“That is not what the management did because the management has been nothing but supportive of me. When the management started dealing with this, I had to travel again.”
“I believe a committee is being set up right now,” she said.
The Nigerian Communications Act (NCA) No 19 of 2003, Part IV established the Universal Service Provision (USP) and mandated the Board to supervise and provide broad policy directions for the management of the USP Fund.
Section 118 of the Act established the USP Secretariat and states that it shall reside in the Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) and shall be responsible for the day-to-day administration of the Universal Service Provision.
Pursuant to this mandate, the USP Fund started operation in August 2006 and has embarked on various projects.
According to sources, a similar situation occurred during the tenure of the previous Executive Vice Chairman of NCC, Prof Umar Danbatta.
In October 2023, President Bola Tinubu appointed Dr Aminu Maida as the new Executive Vice Chairman, replacing Danbatta.
According to sources, the alleged attempted cover-up by the NCC’s management arose from a similar incident in the past, during Danbatta’s tenure, in which a senior staff member was suspended and missed out on a promotion.
SaharaReporters had sought comment from the NCC’s Head of Media and Public Relations, Mr Reuben Muoka, who stated that he was unaware of the incident, adding to the perception of a potential cover-up.
“I don’t have any information on it; I’m not aware of it,” he said.
Despite the reports of an alleged attempted cover-up, the complainant was adamant that her case had not been subjected to any form of cover-up or tampering by the NCC’s management.
“The public affairs person SaharaReporters spoke with for the published report probably doesn’t know anything about it,” she told SaharaReporters.
The incident has brought attention to the ongoing concerns about sexual misconduct and abuse of power in Nigeria, as previously reported by SaharaReporters. The alleged occurrence at a government agency underscores the deeply ingrained nature of these problems and the urgent need for actionable change to ensure a safe and equitable environment for all.
Similarly in June, the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Ibrahim Adamu Lamuwa was accused of sexually harassing a female staff member of the ministry.
A married employee of the ministry, Mrs Simisola Fajemirokun Ajayi, disclosed the excesses of the permanent secretary in a petition to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Yusuf Maitama Tuggar, through her lawyer, Mr Femi Falana (SAN), and urged the minister to investigate the envoy.
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.
Narrating how the Permanent Secretary had been harassing her, the counsel reminded the minister that he (Tuggar) had intervened in the past and was assured that such atrocity and bizarre act would not happen again yet, in May, he (Amb. Ibrahim Lamuwa) resumed his sexual molestation, a development that had created an unsafe and uncomfortable working environment for their client and other workers in the ministry.
The petition partly read: "Our attention has been drawn to the bizarre and continuous incidents of sexual harassment, intimidation, oppression, discrimination and conduct likely to breach the public peace within your esteemed Ministry by Amb. Ibrahim Lamuwa. Amb. Ibrahim Lamuwa's conduct has 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.
"Consequent to the foregoing, we seek the intervention of your good office on the above- captioned matter based on the following facts:
"October 7, 2023 during the first policy retreat to review President Tinubu's 4D policy, Amb. Ibrahim Lamuwa approached our client to inquire as to why she did not sleep at the hotel and informed her that he would want her to come to his room after the event. 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."