The Federal Ministry of Foreign Affairs has filed a formal complaint against its Permanent Secretary, Ibrahim Lamuwa, accusing him of s3xual harassment among other misconduct.
This complaint follows a previous allegation made in June by Simisola Fajemirokun Ajayi, an aide to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, who accused Lamuwa of inappropriate behaviour.
According to The Cable, in a letter addressed to President Bola Tinubu, dated July 3, the group, identifying themselves as “concerned and patriotic foreign service officers,” outlined that the recent claims against Lamuwa are not isolated incidents.
They assert that such allegations have been a recurring element throughout his public service career, including disturbing accusations involving minors.
Lamuwa has rebutted these claims, particularly the recent allegations from Ajayi, suggesting that there were personal grievances involved, notably around a denied request to cover personal expenses during an overseas assignment.
The letter reads, “His unbridled s3xual assaults and harassment on minors and women is legendary.
“Cases include harassment of neighbours’ children, as a young officer, while occupying government property at the foreign affairs quarters in Gwarimpa, Abuja; the inglorious removal from his post in Canada to avoid an impending declaration of persona non-grata (PNG), and s3xual assault cases involving a large number of locally-recruited staff in our mission in Dakar, Senegal.
“In Senegal, while serving as ambassador and principal representative of Mr President, ambassador Lamuwa threatened a female bank official, saddled with the management of the embassy’s account, that he would ensure the movement of the mission’s account to another financial institution in the event that she does not agree to engage in s3xual activities with him.
“It took the voice recording of the incident before Ambassador Lamuwa could withdraw from his inherent evil intentions.
“More recently at the ministry’s headquarters, a married female policy officer tasked with the implementation of presidential reforms could not resist the intense pressure, and she succumbed to Ambassador Lamuwa’s threat and was duly rewarded for her compliance in the yet-to-be-released 2024 posting exercise without due diligence.
“All these incidents could have been avoided if a system of checks and balances was in place in the administration of the ministry, with the appointment of under-secretaries.
“In the last 24 months, all Nigerian missions abroad have received 20 percent of their budgeted allocation.
“The affected missions wrote to Amb. Lamuwa, more than 21 months ago, to appeal for the budget shortfall, a result of the government’s policy on the unification of the exchange rate, to be brought to the attention of Mr President, but Ambassador Lamuwa rather devised a plan to suffocate missions and utilize the untoward situation for his personal gains.
“With the assistance of the director of finance and account (DFA), Amb. Lamuwa suppressed all missions’ desperate appeal and began to peddle a misrepresentation to the honourable minister of foreign affairs and other high-level government officials that missions are financially buoyant and the only reason they were writing was that officers at posts, who are diligently serving the country, wanted an excuse not to return. Even with several inquiries from the state house, Amb. Lamuwa remained obstinate in his covetous plot.
“The far-reaching implication is that the jaundiced posting, as he had orchestrated and implemented, will give him unimpeded control over all the missions more than Mr President and the honourable minister of foreign affairs.”
They said embassies and offices in Asia—Rome, Geneva, Brussels, Tehran, and Bern—are drawing in debt and unable to pay rent and salaries.
They accused Lamuwa of demonstrating impunity by claiming to be well-connected to principals at the State House, particularly the office of the vice president.
The officials further stated, “Ambassador Lamuwa is not an example of what the civil service should promote or be proud of, as he has indeed shown great disrespect and disregard for the service and government processes.
“Such individuals are a potent threat to society and should be confined to the walls of rehabilitation or correction facilities.”
The concerned Ministry of Foreign Affairs officers asked President Tinubu to “direct a wider investigation of the issues stated in the letter to ascertain the facts and for necessary actions”.
