The United
States government has raised serious allegations of sexual misconduct and
attempted rape against Nigerian lawmakers.
The U.S. ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle, made the
allegation in a letter sent to the Speaker of House of Representatives, Yakubu
Dogara, on June 9.
The accused members are Samuel Ikon (PDP, Akwa Ibom), Mohammed
Gololo (APC, Bauchi) and Mark Gbillah (APC, Benue).
The petition says they attempted to commit rape, and solicited
sex from prostitutes during their recent trip to Cleveland, United States, for
the International Visitor Leadership Program.
In the petition, obtained by New Telegraph, Mr. Gololo was
reported by a hotel house keeper to have grabbed her and sought sex.
Messrs Ikon and Gbillah, allegedly, sought the assistance of
hotel park attendants to help them get prostitutes.
Mr. Dogara’s spokesperson, Turaki Hassan, confirmed the Speaker
received the petition to PREMIUM TIMES.
The petition read, “It is with regret that I must bring to your
attention the following situation. Ten members of the Nigerian National
Assembly recently travelled to Cleveland, Ohio as participants in the
International Visitor Leadership Programme on good governance. We received
troubling allegations regarding the behaviour of three members of the
delegation to the U.S. Government’s flagship professional exchange programme.
“The
U.S. Department of State and the Cleveland Council on World Affairs received
reports from employees of the Cleveland hotel where the representatives stayed,
alleging the representatives engaged in the following behaviour: “Mohammed
Garba Gololo allegedly grabbed a housekeeper in his hotel room and solicited
her for sex.
“While
the housekeeper reported this to her management, this incident could have
involved local law enforcement and resulted in legal consequences for
Representative Gololo. Mark Terseer Gbillah and Samuel Ikon allegedly requested
hotel parking attendants assist them to solicit prostitutes.
“The
U.S. Mission took pains to confirm these allegations and the identities of the
individuals with the employees of the hotel in Cleveland.
“The
conduct described above left a very negative impression of Nigeria, casting a
shadow on Nigeria’s National Assembly, the International Visitor Leadership
Program, and to the American hosts’ impression of Nigeria as a whole. Such
conduct could affect some participants’ ability to travel to the United States
in the future.
“While
the majority of Nigerian visitors to the United States do behave appropriately,
even a few Nigerians demonstrating poor judgement leads to a poor impression of
the Nigerian people generally, though it is far from accurate. Such incidents
jeopardise the ability of future programming and make host institutions and
organisations less likely to welcome similar visits in the future.”
“I
request, in the strongest possible terms, you share this message with members
of the National Assembly so they understand the seriousness of these issues,
and the potential consequences of their actions, not only for themselves as
individuals, but also for the future of such programmes designed to benefit
Nigeria,” Mr. Entwistle wrote.
The
accused lawmakers denied the allegations.
“It’s an affront on the National Assembly” – Gbillah
Mr.
Gbillah, who was accused of soliciting prostitutes alongside Mr. Ikon, said the
allegation was a calculated attempt at rubbishing the National Assembly and
vowed to demand compensation from the U.S. for defamation of character.
He
explained that that they did not speak to park attendants, basing his argument
on the ground that they did not go with cars, and asking, “So how could we have
spoken with attendant.”
“So, at
Cleveland Renaissance where we were, opposite the Quicken Loan Arena, the
Cleveland Cavalier Basketball team played a match and many people came to lodge
at the same hotel, and they claimed that we spoke with car park attendants. We
didn’t go with cars, so how could we have spoken with attendants?”
“I saw
the ambassador (Entwistle) and went to greet him and he told me how a few of us
tarnished the image of the House. I advised him to make it formal so that we
can know who was involved and what actually happened.
“It was
after this encounter that they called us to their premises and said they were
identified by their accusers in a group picture. This is curious. No video
footage. They didn’t accost us while we were in US. We suspect this is a
calculated attempt to rubbish the National Assembly. Is this how they would
have investigated their congressmen? Do they know that there were other black
people who came to watch the match? How could they have identified us in a
picture without our knowledge?”
He said
the affected lawmakers had challenged the U.S. government, demanding footage of
their stay in the hotel and that they should be provided access to their
accusers for identification.
Mr.
Gololo, in a letter to the American envoy on June 13, obtained by PREMIUM
TIMES, said “these are totally false, unfounded and baseless allegations
against me. I categorically deny that any such incident happened. I never
grabbed any housekeeper or solicited sex”.
“I also
take this matter very seriously not only because I am an honourable member
representing a hallowed institution but because I am husband and father. How
will my family and in-laws react to this wild and grave allegation.”
He demanded “video or any such evidence of my alleged
misbehaviour.”
Nkole Ndukwe, another lawmaker who was on the trip, expressed
shock at the allegation and asked for substantiation from the U.S.
The United States Embassy in Nigeria declined comment on this
story.
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