The Office of the Head of Service has suspended the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ambassador Ibrahim Lamuwa over sexual harassment allegation.
The Head of Service, Folashade Yemi-Esan, said the Permanent Secretary would be on suspension pending the outcome of a probe into the allegation against him.
“The permanent secretary has been suspended pending the outcome of the probe by the committee set up,” a senior director in the OHCSF told newsmen in Abuja.
It would be recalled Simisola Ajayi had written a petition to the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Yusuf Tuggar, through her lawyer Femi Falana (SAN), alleging Lamuwa sexually harassed her severally.
The ministry’s staff also staged a protest against the Permanent Secretary on Tuesday.
An official familiar with the case disclosed on Wednesday that the HoS has set up a panel, following the receipt of Tuggar’s letter on the allegation against Lamuwa.
The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of the matter, said, “Yes, the Head of Service has set up a committee to probe the whole matter. There are pieces of evidence, which will be tabled and witnesses who will also be invited to speak on the matter, so it is not a matter that will be swept under the carpet.
“The minister (Tuggar) is also very much interested in the outcome. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is a special ministry that operates even outside the shores of the country, so you can’t expect that an issue of such gravity will be swept under the carpet.”
Recall, Permanent Secretary Ibrahim Lamuwa has refuted the allegation of sexual harassment levelled against him by an aide of the minister of foreign affairs.
Responding to the allegation in a statement, Lamuwa via his lawyers discredited the claims.
