The Chairman of the House Committee on Ethics and Privileges, Nicholas Ossai, had fixed July 14, Thursday, for the hearing in Abuja, saying that lawmakers would meet with Mr. Onyeama and outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria James Entwistle over the sexual misconduct allegation against Mohammed Gololo, Samuel Ikon and Mark Gbillah.
The House of Representatives has again postponed the investigative hearing into the alleged sex scandal leveled against three House members to July 20 following the absence of the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Geoffrey Onyeama. The Chairman of the House Committee on Ethics and Privileges, Nicholas Ossai, had fixed July 14, Thursday, for the hearing in Abuja, saying that lawmakers would meet with Mr. Onyeama and outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Nigeria James Entwistle over the sexual misconduct allegation against Mohammed Gololo, Samuel Ikon and Mark Gbillah.
The Ambassador had in a petition to the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, accused the three lawmakers of sexual assault and soliciting prostitutes during an International Visitor Leadership Program in Cleveland, Ohio, between April 7 and April 13, 2016.
According to Mr. Ossai, “the standard in the U.S. is that an accused person is assumed innocent until proven guilty and that is the same standard in Nigeria. Anyone who has evidence can now see the committee."
The U.S. Embassy had refused to confirm the appearance of Mr. Entwistle, who was asked to provide video evidence to substantiate his claim, before the committee
Mr. Dogara had last month expressed regret over the trending report on the allegation against the three lawmakers, which made waves on social media.
The speaker had insisted that the lawmakers had said that they were ready to defend themselves at their own cost.
The committee also invited the Committee for the Defence of Human Rights (CDHR) and the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC).
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