NIGERIAN LAW MAKERS IN U.S SEX CLAIM WAR

NIGERIAN LAW MAKERS IN U.S SEX CLAIM WAR

BY BEN KERRIGAN

Nigerian law makers are in a U.S sex claim war with the U.S embassy, over solicitation claims by a female house keeper.

A group of Nigerian law makers have threatened legal action against the U.S embassy over allegations of sexual misconduct. The allegations date back to April, when the law makers were invited by Barack Obama to the White House alongside President Mohammadu Buhari.

The Nigerian law makers have been accused of trying to solicit a house keeper for sex.Envoy James Entwhistle wrote that three of the 10-man delegation to a good governance exchange program had allegedly been involved in behaviour that “left a very negative impression of Nigeria”. The law makers sex claim war could yet turn ugly.

In his statement, he stated that Mohammed Garba Gololo “allegedly grabbed a housekeeper in his Nigerian hotel room and solicited her for sex”, while Mark Terseer Gbillah and Samuel Ikon “allegedly requested hotel parking attendants assist them to solicit prostitutes”. The allegation is serious and lives bad taste about the country, if true.  However, Gololo  has out rightly denied the claim, calling them ”false” and unfounded” in a statement made to the BBC.

Gololo said, “I was shocked. I was embarrassed. There is nothing as such that has happened.”

“You can imagine if one attempted to rape someone or grabbed someone, what stopped the person from screaming? What stopped the person from shouting? However, a woman can be grabbed in a way that doesn’t necessarily make her feel scared or intimidated enough to shout. They was no suggestion the law makers attempted to rape her, so the issue of rape doesn’t even come into the equation. Generally, there is no smoke without fire, though it is possible the girl misunderstood them.

Inquiries made by the eye of media.com reveal that Law makers in Nigeria are powerful, and believed to be loaded to. This can give them a super confident feel of power and confidence. One source told th eye of media.com, they may have made advances to the lady and boasted of having money, something that may well have been misinterpreted to amount to a solicitation for sex. It will be outrageous and unthinkable if law makers actually stooped this low, but they should be given the benefit of the doubt, unless there is concrete evidence to suggest the contrary.

Gololo went further to discredit the truth of the claim, stating:

“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 wants an apology from the US government over the allegations or  says he will take legal action. He has offered to return to Cleveland to clear his name. This is a good idea, as the allegation should be properly probed, and the accused law makers offered an unreserved apology, if the claims are unfounded.The implications of such a probe, could be serious and far reaching, because if untrue someone needs to punished. And if true, the offending law makers will have to step down from their positions, because no country can afford to have law makers who  behave so deplorably.

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. Only time will reveal what on earth has gone on here.

pic By Chatham House, CC BY 2.0,

 

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