25th June, 2016
High-level diplomatic sources have revealed that the U.S. officials have “solid evidence” of the alleged misconduct Ambassador James Entwistle reported to the House of Representatives Speaker, Yakubu Dogara.
In a letter dated June 9, the U.S. Ambassador in Nigeria, Mr. Entwistle, accused three Nigerian lawmakers – Mohammed Garba Gololo (Bauchi APC), Samuel Ikon (Akwa Ibom PDP) and Mark Gbillah (Benue APC) – of soliciting sexual favours from hotel staff in two separate incidents.
Mr. Gololo allegedly grabbed a housekeeper in his hotel room and solicited her for sex while Messrs. Ikon and Gbilla allegedly requested hotel parking attendants to assist them in procuring prostitutes.
The alleged incidents occurred in April at the Residence Inn Marriot, Downtown Cleveland and were promptly reported to State Department officials by the hotel’s management.
According to Premium Times, in response to the lawmakers’ denial of the allegations and threats of legal action, local sources in Cleveland and sources close to State Department and the Nigerian diaspora community in Washington DC said that relevant U.S. officials are in possession of records specifying “circumstances of” the alleged incidents, including “eyewitness reports” and real-time “video” evidence.
“The Ambassador wouldn’t have written to the Speaker if there is no solid evidence,” said one of our sources, who added that after the hotel manager reported the incidents, State Department officers “had to investigate before acting on the allegations.”
The investigation was extensive and exhaustive; it included interrogation of relevant hotel staff and review of all closed-circuit cameras in the vicinity of the alleged incidents, state department insiders said.
Hinting at details of the investigation, our source countered Mr. Gololo’s denial, insisting that of the three lawmakers, “he is the one who actually put his hand on somebody, the others only made a verbal request”.
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