Dogara: No evidence of sexual misconduct against reps yet

Yakubu Dogara, speaker of the federal house of representatives, says there is yet no evidence against the three members of the federal house of representatives accused of sexual misconduct in the United States.

James Entwistle, the US ambassador to Nigeria, had written to Speaker Yakubu Dogara alleging that three reps were accused of rape and soliciting prostitutes while on a US visitor programme in April 2016.

But Mark Gbillah, one of the named reps, subsequently wrote to the ambassador to protest the allegations, demanding the “full video/CCTV footage covering the period of their entire stay at the hotel, saying “this should clearly show the movements and activities of every member of the group throughout the hotel”.

Speaking on the matter on Saturday, Dogara, through a statement issued by Turaki Hassan, his spokesman, urged Nigerians to refrain from passing judgment and wait for the outcome of investigation by the parliament.

“Judgment can only be passed when an allegation is proven,” he said.

He maintained that as ambassadors of the House and indeed, the entire country, the accused members would have known not to bring dishonour to the institution they represent.

He vowed that the House would conduct an investigation into allegations, saying: “Together with the US Embassy in Nigeria, we will get to the bottom of this matter.”

The speaker further explained that apart from the letter, no evidence had been forwarded to his office, and that there could be no conviction without a trial.

He also indicated that the lawmakers had expressed preparedness to defend themselves at their own cost.

“We await the result of the investigation into the matter,” he added.