The Chief Finance Officer (CFO) at the First Atlantic Bank, stationed at its head office in Accra, Ernest Kwasi Nimako has been sued over an “unholy and unhealthy” love affair with a national service personnel.
He has been accused of sexual harassment and abuse as serious sexual allegations are made against senior managers of the bank.
The financial institution has also been joined in the suit as the second defendant by the plaintiff, Deborah Seyram Adablah, who was posted to the bank’s head office in October 2020 for her mandatory one-year national service.
The charges against the two were filed at the High Court in Accra on Monday, January 23, 2023
In her statement of claim, the lady “avers that during her national service work, she and the 1st Defendant entered into a Parlor relationship. Plaintiff avers that, the relationship started as a result of a persistent sexual harassment and abuse by the 1st Defendant, a superior officer who wielded a lot of power which the plaintiff finally gave in without which she would have found working in the 2nd Defendant office a nightmare.”
According to the plaintiff, she pressed charges against her former boss because she felt “used, abused, maltreated, exploited, deceived, disappointed, failed and insulted by the acts of the defendants”.
In her statement, Deborah Adablah alleged having regular unprotected sex with Mr. Ernest Nimako who also put her on a “risky medical family planning treatment”.
She said she has been having complications as a result of the family planning, but has been ignored by the plaintiff who promised to upgrade the relationship from a ‘side chick’ to marriage.
According to the plaintiff, their relationship was open and known to almost all the workers in the bank, adding that the bank was also aware her boss engaged her in the “unholy and unhealthy work relationship”.
She claimed that although she was given contract by the bank after her national service, she was convinced by the first defendant who made juicy promises to her to abrogate the contract.
She alleged the boss promised to give her a lump sum working capital to start business; pay for her accommodation/Rent for 3 years; buy her a car; pay her GH¢ 3,000.00 a month and among others to marry her after divorcing his wife in the course of their relationship.
The defendant, the plaintiff testified, honoured part of the agreement including renting a 2-bed room accommodation at a rental value of GH¢ 1,500 and buying her a Honda Civic at the cost of GH¢ 120,000.
However, the amorous relationship later encountered several uncompromising challenges and the two decided to end it under mutually agreed terms, but she alleged the first defendant has reneged on his side of the bargain.
Worst still, she claimed Mr. Nimako has taken possession of the car, accused her of stealing, which she is standing trial for that offence. She is also being ejected from her house.
Deborah Adablah is therefore praying the court to order the 1st defendant to transfer title of the car No. GC -7899-21 into her name as the owner.
An order that the first defendant pays lump sum money to the plaintiff to enable the plaintiff start a business to take care of herself as agreed by the then lovers.
The 1st Defendant pays the remaining two years rent for Plaintiff’s accommodation or to pay same amount for the remaining two years at the same rate at an alternative accommodation.
She also wants the first defendant to pay the outstanding arrears of plaintiff’s monthly allowance from July 2022 to the date of Judgment and pay all medical expenses as a result of the side effects of the Family Planning treatment as well as general damages against the defendants among others.
FIRST ATLANTIC BANK’s OFFENCE
Plaintiff alleged that the First Atlantic Bank, as her employer, owed her a duty of care which it failed her, and worst still, the 2nd Defendant also “pushed her to reach out to male customers to bait them with sex in exchange of opening accounts with the bank”.
Deborah further alleged that she was not the only victim of the unhealthy sexual relationship at the bank.
“Plaintiff avers that, when she started working with the 2nd Defendant bank, she observed persistent sexual harassment by senior male officers against female workers of the bank and if you failed to give in to their demands, your life in the bank is made unhappy, uncomfortable and unfriendly to work in. Plaintiff avers that, virtually every senior manager has a girlfriend in the bank and they change the ladies at their will to the knowledge of the managers of the 2nd Defendant bank. They also use we the female staff to make advances to very rich customers with a view to sleeping with them and getting them to open accounts with the bank to the detriments of the female staffs.”
Though the plaintiff claimed no employee is prepared to testify for fear of losing their jobs, she took up the initiative to fight with the hope that many female workers will be liberated from their bondage.