A former staff member of the Embassy of Indonesia in Abuja, Nigeria, (name withheld) has petitioned authorities and the Embassy of Indonesia over serious allegations of sexual harassment and unlawful retaliation against the Indonesian Ambassador to Nigeria and ECOWAS, Usra Harahab.
The petition filed by the solicitors to the victim, BOWYARD PARTNERS, with the title: “Complaint of Sexual Harassment, Intimidation And Unlawful Retaliation Against Ambassador Dr Usra Hendra Harahap, Ambassador of the Republic of Indonesia to Nigeria”, was received by the Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs; Ambassador, Embassy of Indonesia; head of the chancery, Embassy of Indonesia and the Inspector General of Police (IGP) in June 2024.
Petitions were also sent to the minister of women’s empowerment and child protection in Indonesia, the ministry of law and human rights in Indonesia, the Executive Secretary of the National Human Rights Commission in Nigeria, and the director general of the State Security Service in Nigeria, among others.
In the petition, copies of which were made available to Daily Trust, the victim – an Indonesian married to a Nigerian – alleged that on February 7, 2024, during her official duties at the embassy, Ambassador Harahap engaged in unwelcome and inappropriate physical conduct while she was assisting him in locating a Nigerian state on a map in his office.
The alleged encounter reportedly caused her significant psychological trauma, prompting her to seek professional counselling and support.
Psychological evaluations conducted by the Indonesian Ministry of Foreign Affairs psychologist diagnosed the victim with severe Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD), anxiety and depression.
According to documents provided by her legal team, counselling results reflect long-term psychological harm stemming from the alleged incident.
The individual claimed she was subjected to workplace victimisation and retaliation, which she believed were attempts to discredit and force her out of her role.
The alleged retaliatory actions included excessive scrutiny, negative performance reviews, and, ultimately, the termination of her employment under what she described as unjustified circumstances.
Her legal team said efforts to resolve the matter through correspondence with the embassy, including letters directed to Ambassador Harahap and other embassy officials have yielded no response.
The victim’s legal representatives have formally appealed to the Indonesian minister for foreign affairs, urging an independent investigation, the reversal of her termination, and adequate compensation for the harm she claims to have suffered.
The victim’s legal representatives have also requested that the Indonesian government waive Ambassador Harahap’s diplomatic immunity to allow for a potential legal challenge in Nigeria.
However, Daily Trust gathered that Harahab retired and left the country two weeks ago despite the sexual harassment allegation against him.
He handed over to the Head of Chancery, Pak Mahmudeen Mahmudeen, after serving six years in Nigeria and the West Africa sub-region.
No one at the embassy was ready to speak about the allegations and efforts being made to investigate them.
When reached for comment, Hashim Umar Farooq Lawal, who works with the Defence Attaché Office of the Indonesian Embassy, declined to comment on the issue.
While querying our correspondent about how he got his number, Lawal threatened to arrest him for invasion of privacy and eventually dropped the call.
Meanwhile, Roy Soemirat, a spokesperson for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Indonesia, confirmed that the Ministry was taking the allegations seriously and is closely monitoring the case.
“We are thoroughly examining the reports, ensuring that the investigation follows all legal guidelines,” Roy stated in a press release in early January.
The acting spokesman of the Nigerian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the media aide to Yusuf Tuggar, the minister in charge of the ministry, Kimiebi Ebienfa and Alkasim Abdulkari, respectively said they were not aware of the issue.
They, however, promised to find out about the latest development in the case and get back to our reporter but had not as of the time of filing this report.