Two members of the House of Representatives, Mohammed Garba Gololo (Bauchi) and Mark Gbillah (Benue) have denied allegations leveled against them by the United State Ambassador to Nigeria James Entwistle, bordering on sexual assault.
While Gololo was alleged to have attempted to rape a housekeeper in his hotel room, Gbillah and another lawmaker, Samuel Ikon (Akwa Ibom) were accused of soliciting s*x from prostitutes.
According to a popular daily Gbillah responded stating that, “This is an affront on the National Assembly and Nigeria, it appears they have ulterior motives. We are not going to take this lightly; we will take legal actions against the US government. It is a dent on our image.
“I went on the trip with my wife and baby and insisted that she stayed with me, but they told me the accommodation was meant for only participants…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.
“We, the concerned members, have written to the speaker indicating the facts and demanding footage of our stay in the hotel. We also want them to provide access to our accusers to identify us. But most importantly, we would be demanding compensation from the US government for defamation of character”.
Gololo is also said to have denied the claims via a letter written to the Speaker of the House of Representatives Yakubu Dogara.
He said: “Let me, from the outset, express my shock and dismay at the contents of the letter generally and particularly affects me.
“These are totally false, unfounded and baseless allegations against me. I categorically deny any such incident happened, I never grabbed any housekeeper nor did I solicit for s*x. I also take this issue very seriously not only because I am a honourable member representing a hallowed institution, but because of my integrity as a husband and father. How would my family and in-laws react to these wild and grave allegations?
“I demand an apology and retraction of these allegations or I shall not hesitate to engage the services of lawyers and not only to clear my name, but to seek redress for the damages done to my reputation. I insist that evidence of the allegations against me be produced”.
The three legislators were among ten Nigerians who visited Cleveland, Ohio on the invitation of the US government to attend the International Visitor Leadership Program which held between April 7 and 13, 2016.
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