Three members of the Nigerian House of Representatives are now learning that they cannot take their excesses beyond Nigerian shores. For taking their misbehaviour to where it is not tolerated, the three are now subject of a probe ordered by House Speaker, Dogara Yakubu.
The trio are being investigated based on a complaint by the U.S. government against them for sexual misconduct and attempted rape while on a visit in America.
The allegation was made by the U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria himself, James Entwistle in a letter he sent to the Speaker of the House on June 9.
The accused members are Samuel Ikon (PDP, Akwa Ibom), Mohammed Gololo (APC, Bauchi) and Mark Gbillah (APC, Benue).
The petition, obtained by the Telegraph, 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.
The petition alleges that Gololo was reported by a hotel house keeper, who said he grabbed her and begged for sex. While Ikon and Gbillah, allegedly, sought the assistance of hotel park attendants to help them procure prostitutes.
In response, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, on Thursday ordered the probe of the three members over the allegations.
This was confirmed by the Chairman, House Committee on Media and Public Affairs, Abdulrazak Namdas. He said, “We are in receipt of a letter from the US Ambassador, alleging misconduct by some members of the National Assembly, who attended a training programme in the United States of America.
Meanwhile, the United States has formally withdrawn its visas issued to the three lawmakers. This simply means that they have been barred from entering the United States.
However, the accused lawmakers have denied the allegations. Gbillah fumed that it is a calculated attempt to rubbish the National Assembly and swore that he will demand compensation from the U.S. for defamation of character. He however failed to say why the United States would want to defame his character.
Below is the letter of complaint by the United States Ambassador to Nigeria:
“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.
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