HC Deb 21 February 1938 vol 332 cc33-4
69. Miss Rathbone

asked the Secretary of State for the Colonies whether he is aware that Mr. E. B. Bankole, formerly a clerk in the service of the Government of Nigeria, was dismissed from the service, with loss of pension rights, because he had allowed a relation to incur a debt of over £500 to Messrs. John Holt and Company, and his relative, having defaulted, had become responsible for the debt, and had subsequently denied to his employers that he was financially embarrassed; and whether, as Bankole alleges he was refused leave to employ counsel in his defence and that there was contributory negligence on the part of Messrs. Holt in that they did not call his attention to the debt, his case will now be reconsidered?

The Secretary of State for the Colonies (Mr. Ormsby-Gore)

Charges against Mr. Bankole of incurring debts which rendered impossible the proper discharge of his duties and of making a false statement in regard thereto were investigated, in accordance with the procedure laid down in the Colonial Regulations, by a committee of the Executive Council of Nigeria under the chairmanship of the Attorney-General. The committee found that the charges were established and that Mr. Bankole's conduct had been extremely reprehensible, and the Governor, with the unanimous advice of his Executive Council, recommended that he should be dismissed. The records of the proceedings do not bear out the allegation that Mr. Bankole asked to be represented by counsel, but in any case this is a matter within the discretion of the committee of the Executive Council. After full consideration of all the aspects of the case, I was completely satisfied that dismissal was justified and action was taken accordingly. I am not prepared to reconsider that decision.

Miss Rathbone

Is it the custom in the Government of Nigeria to refuse the right to be represented by counsel and that accused men have to defend themselves in a foreign tongue? Is not the penalty of dismissal rather severe for a man's good nature in allowing a relative to incur a debt?

Mr. Ormsby-Gore

I think the hon. Lady did not listen to my answer. He did not ask for counsel to represent him. I understand that they did not know English but there was an interpreter there. The charge was not merely one of incurring a debt but of making a false statement, and I am quite satisfied that the unanimous decision of the Executive Council in dismissing him was fully justified.