MEMBER of the House of
Representatives named in the alleged attempted rape of a prostitute in the
United States of America, Mark Gbillah, has written a protest letter demanding
for evidences to support the claims or unreserved apologies without
delays.
Gbillah, who is representing
Benue Gwer east/Gwer west in the federal house, threatened that failure to
produce convincing evidences in view of the allegations will land the accusers
in the court both in the US and Nigeria for equitable remedies in form of
damages and publicized global apologies. (Full text of his letter below)
James
Entwistle, the US ambassador to Nigeria, had written to Speaker Yakubu Dogara
alleging that three members of the Nigerian House of Representatives on official
trip to the US were involved on attempted rape and immoral conducts and
subsequently revoked their Visas.
According to the petition to
the Speaker, the incident took place at the Marriot Hotel Brand, adding that
the United States vehemently frowned at the development leading to the immediate
revocation of their visas to the US. THE FULL TEXT OF HIS LETTER BELOW:
It has come to my attention that via correspondence from
your good self to His Excellency, Speaker of the House of Representatives of
the Federal Republic of Nigeria (a copy of which I also received), you made
very serious allegations against me and other members of the House of
Representatives group that visited the United States in April 2016 as part of
the International Visitors Leadership Programme (IVLP).
In
your letter you claimed that I was identified as one of the members of the
aforementioned group who asked for the assistance of a hotel parking attendant
to solicit for prostitutes at the Residence Inn Downtown Cleveland Ohio.
I
am extremely shocked, upset, irked and embarrassed by your letter and want to
categorically state that these allegations are completely false, unfounded,
malicious and a calculated attempt to malign and cast aspersion on my
reputation and character as a Nigerian citizen and Honourable Member of the
House of Representatives and to bring disrepute to the hallowed institution of
the National Assembly and the entire nation of Nigeria.
Considering
the enormity of these allegations it is instructive to note the following:
1)
The US State Department and the US Embassy in Nigeria appear to have
concluded on the accuracy of these allegations based on the testimony of the
employees of the hotel without recourse to a response from the accused
individuals or a proper forensic investigation. Paragraph 5 of your letter
clearly states that ‘The US Mission took the pains to confirm these allegations
and the identities of the individuals with the employees of the hotel in
Cleveland’. The Embassy claims the accused individuals were identified by the
hotel employees from a photograph of the group. Is this the manner in which
such allegations against any US citizen (not to mention Members of the US
Congress) are investigated and prosecuted in the United States or does the US
State Department and Embassy have so much disdain towards Nigeria and her
citizens that they did not bother to carry out a proper investigation? For a
country that prides itself as the bastion of Democracy, justice, the rule of
law, fair hearing and human rights it is quite alarming that allegations of
this magnitude can be made and confirmed without allowing the accused
individuals to respond.
2)
Without conclusive evidence of any sort or contact with any of the
accused individuals the US State Department and US Embassy in Nigeria have less
than six days after your letter to the Speaker gone ahead to revoke the US
visas of accused individuals based on hearsay from the employees of the hotel
in Cleveland. Affected individuals received correspondence from the US Embassy
on Wednesday 15th June 2016 indicating the denial of their US visas and
requesting that they bring their international passports with current US visas
to the Embassy.
3)
The accused individuals were not accosted with these allegations while
in the US so they could immediately defend themselves, the hotel employees
conveniently refrained from making these allegations while the members of the
group were in the United States and curiously decided to do so after our
departure. What is the reason behind their not reporting these incidents
immediately they occurred and why are we only being informed about these
allegations two months after our return from the US?
4)
None of the members of the group was driving a vehicle while at the
hotel and would therefore have had no cause to interact with the car park
attendants as the Residence Inn car park is not in front of the hotel but
somewhere behind and some distance away from the hotel. You will have to go out
of your way to go to the car park so video footage should clearly indicate
whether or not any member of the group interacted with a hotel car park
attendant.
5)
Other groups comprising African Americans and other ‘people of colour’
were also occupying the Residence Inn while this group of House of Representatives
members was visiting Cleveland because of the scheduled basketball game between
the Cleveland Cavaliers and the Atlanta Hawks at the Quicken Loans Arena which
is just across the road from the hotel. What is the certainty of the ability of
the probably caucasian hotel car park attendants to accurately identify the
specific members of any of the groups at the hotel as being responsible for the
purported infractions?
6)
The US border agency has it on record that I came into the US with my
wife and baby on this trip and although the organisers did not allow them to
stay with me in the hotel I was always communicating with my wife on facetime
whenever I returned to the hotel. I stayed indoors on the days we had a break
from our usually hectic schedule and only had cause to go to the grocery store
to pick up items for my room. I wonder when it was I found the time to solicit
for prostitutes from a hotel parking attendant and how I intended to bring a
prostitute to my room when I had a regular facetime schedule with my wife which
we never concluded until I was ready to turn in. This can very easily be
verified from my log in activity on the hotels Wi-Fi service.
7)
I have visited the US and several countries in the world countless times
over the last several years and have stayed at countless hotels all over the
world and want to dare the US government to find any instance where I have
previously solicited for prostitutes from a hotel employee even when I was not
a married man. I am a Hilton HHonors Diamond Member with over 1,500,000 reward
points, an Intercontinental Ambassador Platinum Elite Member, a Ritz Carlton
Rewards Silver member, a Marriott Rewards Member, a Starwood Preferred Guest
Member and a Fairmont Presidents Club Member.
I
am a member of two of the rewards programs of the parent hotel brand of the
Residence Inn (Marriott Rewards and Ritz Carlton Rewards) and the record of my
previous lodgings at all the hotel brands can be obtained to ascertain whether
or not I have ever solicited for prostitutes from any hotel employee. Although
it is very easy to obtain the previous travel history and track record of
accused members, it is obvious the US State Department and the US Embassy have
presumed our guilt without proper investigation because of the disdain and
disrespect they have towards the average Nigerian citizen even when such
citizens are Members of the Nigerian House of Representatives, a treatment they
will never mete out to an ordinary American citizen who is not even a member of
the US Congress.
8)
It is noteworthy that a member of our group made a formal complaint to the
organisers of the programme about his being defrauded to the tune of about $100
at the Renaissance Hotel Dupont Circle Washington DC but neither the US State
Department nor the US Embassy in Nigeria has deemed it fit to take any action
or initiate any investigation in this regard. Members of the group also
expressed their dissatisfaction, displeasure and disappointment with the
organisers of the programme over their inability to organise a single meeting
with any member of the US congress and constraining members to meet with only
one State Representative and several County Representatives and officials
contrary to the initial objectives of the programme. Perhaps there are other
underlying reasons behind the lacklustre attitude of the US State Department
and the US Embassy towards ensuring proper investigation of these allegations.
Your
Excellency, this unfortunate and malicious situation has further been
exacerbated by the fact that your Embassy by omission or commission has allowed
your correspondence to the Speaker to fall into the hands of the print media in
Lagos without fair hearing or upholding the rights of the concerned
individuals; an employee of one of the national dailies intimated me about this
and their desire to publish the story.
This
story was indeed published in the New Telegraph of Thursday, 16th June, 2016
alleging that related Members of the House of Representatives were involved in
a sex scandal.
You
can imagine the incalculable damage to my reputation and image with the
publication of these spurious allegations especially when I unequivocally know
that I am completely innocent.
It
is also unfortunate that at a meeting with your Deputy Chief of Mission in Abuja
the attempt by members of the group to express their exception to and
displeasure with these allegations, the lack of proper investigation and the
tainting of the image of the entire group was considered to be a very negative
reaction by your Chief of Mission and your good self.
I
suppose the US Embassy expected renowned personalities in Nigeria like Members
of the House of Representatives to accept complicity in such malicious and
spurious allegations without proper investigation or evidence or any opportunity
to defend themselves.
Considering
the psychological trauma, irredeemable defamation of my character and
reputation before my spouse, children, family, colleagues, leadership,
constituents and the general Nigerian and global public and the incalculable
damage to my political career, I intend to take the following actions:
1)
Institute legal action in the United States against the Marriot Hotel
Brand, the Cleveland Council of World Affairs and the US State Department
requesting for damages, comprehensive investigation of these allegations to
exonerate myself and a formal globally publicised apology.
2)
Institute legal action in Nigeria against the US Embassy in Nigeria also
requesting for damages, comprehensive investigation of these allegations and a
formal globally publicised apology.
3)
Demand that the US Embassy and the US State Department (regardless of your
revocation of my US visa) allow me to travel to Cleveland even at my own
expense to confront my accuser and confirm my innocence. I otherwise have no
desire to travel to a country that appears to pay only lip service to the
ideals they claim to uphold.
4)
Demand for the full video/cctv footage covering the period of our entire stay
at the hotel; this should clearly show the movements and activities of every
member of the group throughout the hotel.
It
is unfortunate that I have to write to your good self under these circumstances
but I believe you will use your good office to redress this very grave
injustice and redeem the image of your country.
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