US ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle, haa accused three Nigerian
lawmakers of attempted rape and soliciting for prostitutes while
visiting the states on an official assignment in April 2016.
In a petition dated June 9th and addressed to the Speaker of the House
of Representatives, Hon. Yakubu Dogara, Entwistle alleged that three
lawmakers from Bauchi, Akwa Ibom and Benue state, during their visit to
the states for the International Visitor Leadership Program in
Cleveland, Ohio,
lodged at Cleveland hotel where two of the lawmakers
met with the hotel’s parking lot attendants and asked for links to
prostitutes that would spend the night with them while one of them
allegedly grabbed a housekeeper in the hotel room, demanding for sex.
According to the petition, the housekeeper and parking lot attendants
reported to the hotel management who then filed a complaint at the US
Mission who investigated the allegations.
The accused lawmakers have denied the claims, saying this is a
calculated attempt to ridicule the national assembly. According to the
lawmakers, the allegations against them was made a month after they had
left the US.
They wonder why they were not questioned while they were still in
America during the course of their assignment and argued that no video
footage was provided by the hotel management to back up the claims.
The affected lawmakers have written to the Speaker of the House of
Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, calling for a full scaled investigation
into the allegations.