Member groups and civil rights activists have described the alleged sexual misconduct of three members of National Assembly as 'embarassing' during their visit to the United States.
According to Punch who had an interview with the groups and individuals at different times said if the allegations was established, the affected members should resign or be recalled by their constituents.
The US Ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle, in a letter dated June 9, 2016, addressed to the Speaker of the House, Mr. Yakubu Dogara, had alleged that three members of the House, Mohammed Garba Gololo (APC, Bauchi), Samuel Ikon (PDP, Akwa Ibom) and Mark Gbillah (APC, Benue) had, on a recent visit to the US for the International Visitor Leadership Programme, brought disrepute to the parliament by soliciting for sex from prostitutes and grabbing a hotel housekeeper in a bid to rape her.
The affected lawmakers have, however, denied all the allegations and threatened to sue the ambassador and the US government for “character defamation and a calculated attempt to ridicule the National Assembly.” A lawyer and President of Committee for Defence of Human Rights, Mr. Malachy Ugwummadu, described the “scandal as one too many.” He said, "Once again, this has embarassed our sensibility, it has scandalised us.
Malachy went further to state that the US Ambassador cannot write the report frivolously and if it is established that the allegations against the law makers are true, the legislators should be recalled by their constituents as provided for under the constition. He also said that the available evidence will determine if they will be prosecuted in Nigeria or US.
No comments:
Post a Comment