MTN Nigeria’s Chief Risk Officer, Cyril Ilok Resigns After Sexual Abuse Allegations

MTN Nigeria’s Chief Risk and Compliance Officer, Cyril Ilok, has resigned, one month after female employees in the firm accused him of using his position to cover up sexual harassment petitions.

It was reported that the Telecom giant’s Chief Sales and Distribution Officer, Adekunle Adebiyi, was accused of sexual harassment and fraudulent transactions.

Female employees under an umbrella name, ‘The Anonymous Whistle Blowers’ made this claim in an email sent to MTN Group’s General Manager, Forensic Services, Nerisha Singh, between April 2021 and February 2022.

It was alleged that Adebiyi targets new MTN Nigeria female employees for sexual affairs, and the workers are too scared to report to the Human Resources over the fear of losing their jobs.

Ilok was mentioned as one of the senior directors using his position to block staff petitions.

“Cyril Ilok, head of forensics, is his womanizing and drinking partner, who will never allow all the petitions from the staff to go through investigations,” the statement said.

Adebiyi has since resigned from his position and left the company, however, while Ilok has submitted his resignation, he won’t vacate his position until September 30, 2022.

In the letter announcing his resignation on Wednesday to the capital market authority, NGX, MTN Nigeria didn’t state the reason for his exit, but the firm March had said it will investigate the claims of the female employees against the mentioned individuals, adding that much evidence wasn’t included in the email.

Ilok spent 19years at the telecom firm. He joined MTN Nigeria on November 4, 2002, as a Senior Internal Auditor. His successor is yet to be announced.