Onyeama: Entwistle has no evidence of ‘sexual misconduct’ against reps
Geoffrey Onyeama, minister of foreign affairs, on Thursday said James Entwistle, outgoing ambassador of US to Nigeria, has no evidence of sexual misconduct against three members of the house of representatives.
The accused lawmakers are Mohammed Gololo (APC, Bauchi), Samuel Ikon (PDP, Akwa Ibom), and Mark Gbillah (APC, Benue).
Speaking on Thursday when he appeared before the joint committees on ethics and privileges and foreign affairs, Onyeama said Entwinstle regretted that the letter he wrote to Yakubu Dogara, speaker of the house of reps, was leaked.
He said the envoy only called the attention of Dogara to the issue.
“He (Entwistle) has confirmed that the allegations were made, and he told me that the hotel house keeper has refused to testify in respect of the matter, “Onyeama said.
“The allegations are ambiguous. He did not present any evidence nor did he indicate that they have any corroborative evidence.
“He is not necessarily making accusations himself but was bringing it to the attention of the house. It does not conclude guilt because no steps have been taken.”
The committees chaired by Ossai Ossai expressed concern that the US government had already punished the accused members by revoking their visas.
For the fact that US Embassy acted without any reasonable evidence, the 3 legislators should take the to the cleaners. This does not suppose that the legislators are innocent of the crime but just to prove that the Embassy should not take laws into their hands. This is how it works in diplomatic circles. You must have incontrovertible evidence before making allegations of that weight.