Alleged sex scandal: Exonerated Reps slam $1bn suit against US

The three members of the House of Representatives exonerated of the sexual misconduct allegations levelled against them by the US Government have picked lawyers to handle their $1 billionsuit against the latter and its agents.

The lawyers are to file the suit in the US while the lawmakers would continue to communicate with them through electronic means from Nigeria since they are barred for now from entering the US.

The affected members are the House’s Deputy Chairman, Committee on Petroleum Resources (Upstream), Mr. Terse Mark-Gbillah (APC, Benue); Mr. Samuel Ikon (PDP, Akwa Ibom); and Mr. Mohammed Garba-Gololo (APC, Bauchi).

A former US ambassador to Nigeria, Mr. James Entwistle, had accused the three lawmakers of committing the alleged misconduct during a leadership training visit to the US last April, prompting the Nigerian legislature to call for an investigation.

The House had exonerated the lawmakers in October 2016 after a report by its Joint Committees on Ethics/Privileges and Foreign Relations found no wrongdoing on their part.

The narrative changed in favour of Mark-Gbillah, Garba-Gololo and Ikon after the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Geoffrey Onyeama, appeared before the committees on July 21 to testify that the US did not produce any concrete evidence to prove the allegations.

Entwistle too failed to appear before the committees while a hotel housekeeper, who alleged that Garba-Gololo “grabbed” her, also declined to testify.

Mark-Gbillah, who spoke for the lawmakers, told The PUNCH that the lawyers had been identified and that efforts were on to finalise consultations on the suit.

However, he neither gave the names of the lawyers nor the firms from where they would be hired.

Mark-Gbillah said that the US visas revoked in the wake of the allegations had yet to be returned to them.
Punch, February 6, 2017

RipplesNigeria ….without borders, without fears

Click here to download the Ripples Nigeria App for latest updates

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now