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The 3 Nigerian lawmakers accused of soliciting for sex with prostitutes and attempted rape while in America have threatened to sue the US government over the allegations.They have also been banned from entering the United States of America.
The incidents allegedly occurred as the MPs were in Cleveland in April.
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| James Entwhistle. |
The three politicians identified in a letter from the James Entwhistle,US ambassador to Nigeria have denied the accusations.
He told Nigeria's parliament speaker that such alleged conduct could put future visits by
Nigerian MPs at risk.
Envoy James Entwhistle wrote that three of the 10-man delegation to a good governance exchange programme had allegedly been involved in behaviour that "left a very negative impression of Nigeria".
He wrote that Mohammed Garba Gololo "allegedly grabbed a housekeeper in his hotel room and solicited her for sex", while Mark Terseer Gbillah and Samuel Ikon "allegedly requested hotel parking attendants assist them to solicit prostitutes".
And as a result,The government of the United States of America has cancelled the visas of three members of the Nigerian House of Representatives accused of sexual misconduct thereby barring them from entering the U.S.
But should the US be taking this action without proper investigation into this matter first? They should not even have named the lawmakers until a case had been proven against them.These men are now forever tarred with these allegations before a trial.I wonder if Nigeria would have been that quick to take the same action if the shoes were reversed.I think we all know the answer to that.
The three Reps. Samuel Ikon (PDP, Akwa Ibom), Mohammed Gololo (APC, Bauchi) and Mark Gbillah (APC, Benue), were accused of alleged sexual misconduct while on an official assignment in Cleveland, USA in April this year.
The Speaker of the Nigerian parliament, Yakubu Dogara, has begun an investigation.
'Shocked and embarrassed'
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But one of the MPs, Mohammed Gololo, told the BBC the accusations were "false" and "unfounded" and that he demanded a retraction.
"I was shocked. I was embarrassed. There is nothing as such that has happened," he said.
He went on to detail reasons why he believed the story did not stand up.
"You can imagine if one attempted to rape someone or grabbed someone, what stopped the person from screaming? What stopped the person from shouting?
"Remember we were there in April. Now we are in June. What stopped them from alleging or stopped them from reporting from April until now? What stopped them from bringing footage or some video clips of how it happened and where it happened?
"It's false, it's unfounded, and it's really embarrassing."
Mr Gololo said he was demanding an apology from the US government over the allegations or would take legal action, and that he was considering paying for himself to return to Cleveland to clear his name.
One of the other accused men, Mr Gbillah, said the allegation was a baseless attempt to tarnish the reputation of Nigeria's House of Representatives.
A US Embassy spokesperson declined to comment on "private diplomatic correspondence".
I am particularly impressed by MP Mohammed Gololo's stance to return to America to clear his name.This does not sound like the actions of a guilty man.If in future though he finds an excuse not to return there,then that will be something to ponder on.