Sex Scandal: U.S accuses Nigerian lawmakers of attempted rape, soliciting prostitutes

The United States government has raised serious allegations of sexual misconduct and attempted rape against Nigerian lawmakers.

The U.S. ambassador to Nigeria, James Entwistle, made the allegation in a letter sent to the Speaker of House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, on June 9.The accused members are Samuel Ikon (PDP, Akwa Ibom), Mohammed Gololo (APC, Bauchi) and Mark Gbillah (APC, Benue).

The petition says they attempted to commit rape, and solicited sex from prostitutes during their recent trip to Cleveland, United States, for the International Visitor Leadership Program.
In the petition, obtained by New Telegraph, Mr. Gololo was reported by a hotel house keeper to have grabbed her and sought sex.

Messrs Ikon and Gbillah, allegedly, sought the assistance of hotel park attendants to help them get prostitutes.
Mr. Dogara’s spokesperson, Turaki Hassan, confirmed the Speaker received the petition to PREMIUM TIMES.
The petition read, “It is with regret that I must bring to your attention the following situation. Ten members of the Nigerian National Assembly recently travelled to Cleveland, Ohio as participants in the International Visitor Leadership Programme on good governance. We received troubling allegations regarding the behaviour of three members of the delegation to the U.S. Government’s flagship professional exchange programme.

“The U.S. Department of State and the Cleveland Council on World Affairs received reports from employees of the Cleveland hotel where the representatives stayed, alleging the representatives engaged in the following behaviour: “Mohammed Garba Gololo allegedly grabbed a housekeeper in his hotel room and solicited her for sex.

“While the housekeeper reported this to her management, this incident could have involved local law enforcement and resulted in legal consequences for Representative Gololo. Mark Terseer Gbillah and Samuel Ikon allegedly requested hotel parking attendants assist them to solicit prostitutes.

“The U.S. Mission took pains to confirm these allegations and the identities of the individuals with the employees of the hotel in Cleveland.

“The conduct described above left a very negative impression of Nigeria, casting a shadow on Nigeria’s National Assembly, the International Visitor Leadership Program, and to the American hosts’ impression of Nigeria as a whole. Such conduct could affect some participants’ ability to travel to the United States in the future.

“While the majority of Nigerian visitors to the United States do behave appropriately, even a few Nigerians demonstrating poor judgement leads to a poor impression of the Nigerian people generally, though it is far from accurate. Such incidents jeopardise the ability of future programming and make host institutions and organisations less likely to welcome similar visits in the future.”

“I request, in the strongest possible terms, you share this message with members of the National Assembly so they understand the seriousness of these issues, and the potential consequences of their actions, not only for themselves as individuals, but also for the future of such programmes designed to benefit Nigeria,” Mr. Entwistle wrote.

The accused lawmakers denied the allegations.

“It’s an affront on the National Assembly” – Gbillah

Mr. Gbillah, who was accused of soliciting prostitutes alongside Mr. Ikon, said the allegation was a calculated attempt at rubbishing the National Assembly and vowed to demand compensation from the U.S. for defamation of character.
He explained that that they did not speak to park attendants, basing his argument on the ground that they did not go with cars, and asking, “So how could we have spoken with attendant.”

“So, at Cleveland Renaissance where we were, opposite the Quicken Loan Arena, the Cleveland Cavalier Basketball team played a match and many people came to lodge at the same hotel, and they claimed that we spoke with car park attendants. We didn’t go with cars, so how could we have spoken with attendants?”

“I saw the ambassador (Entwistle) and went to greet him and he told me how a few of us tarnished the image of the House. I advised him to make it formal so that we can know who was involved and what actually happened.

“It was after this encounter that they called us to their premises and said they were identified by their accusers in a group picture.

This is curious. No video footage. They didn’t accost us while we were in US. We suspect this is a calculated attempt to rubbish the National Assembly. Is this how they would have investigated their congressmen? Do they know that there were other black people who came to watch the match? How could they have identified us in a picture without our knowledge?”

He said the affected lawmakers had challenged the U.S. government, demanding footage of their stay in the hotel and that they should be provided access to their accusers for identification.
Mr. Gololo, in a letter to the American envoy on June 13, obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, said “these are totally false, unfounded and baseless allegations against me. I categorically deny that any such incident happened. I never grabbed any housekeeper or solicited sex”.“I also take this matter very seriously not only because I am an honourable member representing a hallowed institution but because I am husband and father. How will my family and in-laws react to this wild and grave allegation.”

He demanded “video or any such evidence of my alleged misbehaviour.”
Nkole Ndukwe, another lawmaker who was on the trip, expressed shock at the allegation and asked for substantiation from the U.S.

The United States Embassy in Nigeria declined comment on this story.

Culled from Premium Times NG

‘MKO Abiola’s portrait should be N50 currency’

A civil society group, June 12 Coalition of Democratic Formations, J12CODEF, has demanded that the Federal Government approve the portrait of late Chief M.K.O Abiola, the presumed winner of the June 12, 1993 presidential election, on the country’s N50 currency or future currencies.

The group made the demand yesterday, at a briefing in Lagos, lamenting that 23 years after the Presidential election, the central Government has not immortalized the late business mogul.

The group chairman, Mr. Alfred Ilenre, said; “The Federal Government should posthumously recognize late Chief M.K.O. Abiola as the President Elect of the Federal Republic of Nigeria based on the June 12, 1993 Presidential election and immortalize the memory of the custodian of the mandate and the day by declaring June 12 every year as M.K.O. Abiola day.”

Ilenre attributed the state of insecurity in the country to lack of successive governments since 1999 to address issues pertaining to the annulled elections.

His words, “This criminal annulment of the election was an assault on the collective sensibilities of millions of Nigerians who freely gave their mandate to late Chief M.K.O. Abiola via the ballot box.

“Thus, the failure of successive governments since the advent of democratic rule in 1999 to address the issue of June 12 on the side of justice has resulted in sundry crisis bedeviling the Nigerian state such as Boko Haram, Indegenous People Of Biafra, IPOB/Biafra, Corruption, militancy in the Niger Delta, Fulani herdsmen menace, kidnappings and others,” he added.

Mr. Nelson Ekujumi, the group Secretary, said “The crisis bedeviling Nigeria cannot be resolved without restructuring the country along the lines of true federalism.

Culled from Vanguard

Nine die in Lagos crash, mob burns truck

Tragedy struck at the University of Lagos Waterfront end of the Third Mainland Bridge, Lagos State, on Wednesday after a Mazda bus with number plate, AKD 292 XL, rammed into a stationary truck.

No fewer than nine people, including the bus driver, reportedly died on the spot.

Three other passengers, who sustained serious injuries, were said to have been taken to the Gbagada General Hospital, Gbagada.

The driver of the truck reportedly fled the scene after seeing the enormity of the fatality.

PUNCH Metro learnt that an angry mob, which besieged the scene, set fire to the truck and injured an official of the Lagos State Emergency Management Agency.

Firefighters from the Lagos State Fire Service later put out the fire as the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, appeased the youths.

A witness and bus driver, who identified himself simply as Kunmi, said the incident happened around 10pm, adding that nine persons died.

Kunmi, who spoke in Yoruba, explained that the failure of the truck driver to put a sign on the road to indicate that his vehicle had broken down, led to the tragedy.

He said, “The bus was coming from Ajah/Lekki area en route to Oshodi. It was on the Third Mainland Bridge, moving toward Oworonsoki. There was, however, a truck that had broken down on the road. The engine was still running.

“The driver of the bus, who did not see the truck, rammed into it.

“People were not willing to stop their vehicles to assist the victims. I met some policemen on the ground. We used my spanner to break open the door. But the passengers were trapped. We wanted to use my vehicle to pull the bus from the truck, but we couldn’t. We later stopped another truck, which assisted us.

“A rescue agency later brought a sledgehammer that we used to open up the vehicle and bring out nine bodies, including that of the driver, Segun. The driver still had the fares he collected in his hand. He didn’t have a conductor. We left the scene around 2am on Thursday.”

Kunmi said policemen from the Adekunle division and officials of the Lagos State Traffic Management Authority, LASEMA, and the State Environmental Health Monitoring Unit were part of the rescue operation.

He said three survivors, who were in critical conditions, were taken in an ambulance to the Gbagada General Hospital.

An official of LASTMA, who spoke on condition of anonymity, however, claimed that eight people died, saying their remains were mangled.

The official said the Lagos CP gave some money to the family of the driver, who insisted on taking the body to Ibadan, Oyo State, for burial.

He said, “The driver of the bus was at top speed when he rammed into the stationary truck. About 80 per cent of the bus was crushed and that was why the driver and passengers on the first three rows died on the spot. Three people at the back, who did not die, lost their limbs.

“SEHMU wanted to take all the corpses to the mortuary, but the friends and family members of the driver insisted on taking him to Ibadan the same night. The Lagos CP, Owoseni, gave them some money and asked a police escort to follow them.”

The LASTMA official said a mob, made up of sympathisers and some hoodlums, set fire to the truck that caused the accident.

He said the mob wanted to cause more destruction but the police boss urged them to be calm, assuring that justice would be served.

The General Manager of LASEMA, Michael Akindele, said five people died in the accident.

He said, “According to the investigation conducted by LASEMA’s Emergency Response Team, the commercial bus rammed into the stationary truck while speeding.

“The vehicle was later extricated by the ERT, and five male bodies were recovered dead. Six other adult male victims were rescued alive with severe injuries. They were taken to the Accident and Emergency Centre (Trauma Centre) and the Gbagada General Hospital by LASAMBUS.

“The dead bodies were also removed by SEHMU to the Mainland Hospital Mortuary, except the bus driver whose body was released at the request of the family members and friends through the intervention of the Lagos State Commissioner of Police, who was present at the scene of the accident.”

Akindele said the mob that burnt the truck also injured an official of the agency, adding that the state firefighters put out the fire.

The LASEMA boss, while commiserating with the families of the deceased, urged motorists to be cautious while driving at night.

A top official of the Gbagada General Hospital said three victims were brought to the hospital.

“Three of the accident victims were brought to the hospital; none of them died. Two are fully conscious; they had bruises. One is still unconscious,” he said.

The Police Public Relations Officer, SP Dolapo Badmos, confirmed the incident, adding that investigations were ongoing.

She said, “We are investigating the case. The CP was at the scene of the incident. It was an accident that could have been prevented.”

Culled from PUNCH.

Ritual killers remove pregnant woman’s foetus, murder girl

A pregnant woman, Roheemat Akata, has been killed by suspected ritual killers, who removed the foetus in her womb.

Killed along with the pregnant woman was her neighbour’s 12-year-old daughter, whose name could not be ascertained as of press time.

Our correspondent gathered that the suspects waylaid the pregnant woman and the girlIt was gathered that the killers removed her eight-month-old foetus and abandoned her body at the scene of the incident in Gboroko village near Alapa, in the Asa Local Government Area of Kwara State.

A source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Akata was a popular patent medicine seller in the area and was going for a business transaction in company with the 12-year-old when they were killed.

The source stated that the matter had been reported at the Alapa Divisional Police Headquarters for investigation. She added that the remains of the two victims had been deposited in a mortuary in Ilorin.

Scores of sympathisers were seen in groups discussing the tragedy when our correspondent visited the family of Akata at Isale-Banni Alore in Ilorin. The parents of the deceased, who appeared devastated and inconsolable, declined to talk to the press.

The Police Public Relations Officer, Kwara State Command, Mr. Ajayi Okasanmi, confirmed the killings and the removal of the pregnant woman’s foetus.

He stated that the command had commenced investigation into the matter.

Okasanmi said, “It is true that a pregnant woman was killed and her foetus was removed. Also, a young girl with her was killed. We are investigating. There has not been any arrest yet. We are working hard to get to the root of the matter.”

Culled from PUNCH.

Drunk Restaurant Customer Leaves $1,000 Tip, Returns Next Day to Ask for It Back

There’s usually very little that’s special about the tip left behind after a restaurant meal. Some patrons may tip a bit above (or below) the typical 15% to 20%, and more and more restaurants are saving customers the trouble of figuring out a gratuity by eliminating tipping entirely and paying waitstaff a living wage. But it’s generally a humdrum, un-noteworthy transaction.

Sometimes, however, a restaurant tip (or lack thereof) can draw attention, and even outrage. There have been instances when celebrities and professional athletes have been called out for leaving paltry tips, and when customers have used religion or racism as an excuse for stiffing a waiter. On the flip side, there are far more stories in which celebrities leave huge tips—Jim Carrey most recently—and when anonymous customers do the same, like the $1,000 tip mysteriously left for a Waffle House waitress.

Over the weekend, it appeared as if another random act of extreme generosity took place at Thailicious, a restaurant in the Denver suburb of Edgewater, Colo. As the Denver Post reported, one of the waiters received an enormous tip of $1,088, on a dinner that cost about $60.

Thailicious’s owners were overjoyed but also uneasy, and held onto the money in case it was a mistake. Sure enough, the next day the mysterious customer returned and asked for the money back.

“He said, ‘I’m sorry, I was drunk,’” the restaurant’s owner, Bee Anantatho, related. It seems as if in his deep state of hammeredness, the customer was unaware of just how much cash he had on him. The owner assumes that the customer thought the bills he was leaving as a tip were $1 each, but in fact they were $100s.

It was a bummer for the restaurant, and especially the waiter who had over $1,000 in hand only to see it yanked back. But the customer wound up leaving $100 anyway as thanks for the way the restaurant handled the situation.

All things considered, the odd story is a fine example of how to run a business the right way—and why you shouldn’t go out and get drunk with a big stash of cash.

Residents arrested for reporting police torture to PUNCH

No fewer than six residents of Jimeta area in Adamawa State were arrested on Tuesday after a PUNCH report that some cops attached to the Doubeli Police Division tortured a resident, Kabiru Ahmed.

It was learnt that the residents – Ahmad Aliyu, Nibras Mamman, Muhammed Sulei, Abdulrahman Nasir, Kabir Mubi and Umar Baba –were arrested around 5:30pm on Tuesday at the Federal Medical Centre, Yola, where they had gone to visit the victim.

The cops were said to have been annoyed by The PUNCH’s publication on Tuesday.Our correspondent had reported that policemen from the station raided Zanrada Street on May 16, and arrested a youth, who was found with cannabis.

The policemen wanted to arrest some other youths, who were without cannabis when Ahmed, a National Diploma holder in criminal management, challenged them, insisting that “innocent” persons should not be apprehended.

He was said to have been whisked away in a tricycle to the station and allegedly tortured till he fainted. It was said that the policemen contacted Ahmed’s mother around 12am the following day, informing her that he had been admitted to hospital.

A resident and activist, Adamu Ibrahim, had urged the Inspector-General of Police, Solomon Arase, and the state Commissioner of Police, Ghazzali Mohammed, to wade into the matter and ensure that justice was done.

Ibrahim told PUNCH Metro on Wednesday that the six residents were arrested on the FMC premises immediately they left the ward where Ahmed was being treated.

He said, “Around 5pm yesterday (Tuesday), 14 of us went to visit Kabiru (Ahmed) at the hospital. He was able to recognise us but he could not talk. We donated the little amount we contributed to him and left the ward at about 5.30pm.

“A friend left to visit another patient in the hospital and begged us to wait for him. I was hanging around the premises while the others were at the point where we parked our bus. Then, about 10 policemen in mufti came and asked, ‘Where is Adamu Ibrahim?’ They did not see me, but they arrested the six residents.

“A friend called the Police Public Relations Officer and informed him of the development, but he said he was not aware. I think it was your (PUNCH’s) report that prompted their action.”

One of the parents of those arrested, Mallam Ali Mamman, said he went to the station but was not allowed to speak with his son, Nibras, and his friends.

Mamman said he decided to report the case to the state police commissioner on Wednesday after his attempts to secure their bail failed, adding that they were later released around 12pm on the order of the CP.

He said, “The policemen did not allow me to have access to my son and refused to tell me the offence he and his friends committed. On Wednesday, the CP called the policemen to bring them. He asked the policemen and the children what happened.

“The CP asked why the arrest was made but they said they only invited them to the station to gather information. He said what they did was wrong and ordered that they should be released without delay. They have all been released.”

Calls made to the line of the state police spokesperson, Othman Abubakar, were not answered.

However, he sent a “Not true” response to a text message sent to his phone.

Culled from PUNCH.

Kingpin of Babington Macaulay schoolgirls’ abduction arrested

A self-confessed kidnapper, Felix Sylva, arrested by the police in Lagos State, has said he coordinated three kidnap operations, including that of the three schoolgirls of the Babington Macaulay Junior Seminary in the Ikorodu area.

Thirty-seven-year-old Sylva, who hails from Delta State, added that he got N300,000 from the schoolgirls’ abduction and N250,000 from the kidnap of a Chinese construction manager in the Igando area of the state.

PUNCH Metro learnt that Sylva, alias Tradition, was arrested by the operatives of the Special Anti-Robbery Squad at a hideout in the Arepo area of Ogun State, on Saturday.

Fifteen gunmen had, on Monday, March 2, 2016, attacked BMJS, Ikorodu, at about 8pm, firing gunshots in the air during an operation in which three schoolgirls – Timilehin Olosa, Tofunmi Popoola and Deborah Akinayo – were abducted.

The schoolgirls were thereafter taken on a canoe by the gunmen through Majidun to a creek.

PUNCH Metro had reported on March 7, 2016, that policemen arrested three members of the gang – Emmanuel Arigidi, Akanji Sheu and James Henry, while Sylva, who was then at large, was identified as the kingpin that negotiated the payment of ransom with the girls’ families.

Our correspondent had also reported on June 3, 2016, that a Chinese construction manager, Hang Kumming, was abducted by gunmen in the Igando area after which the police arrested four workers of the company.

It was learnt that one of the workers – Amos Loko – confessed to the police that the Chinese manager’s abduction was coordinated by Sylva who was also wanted for the Ikorodu schoolgirls’ abduction.

It was gathered that after surveillance, Sylva was arrested by the SARS operatives in the Arepo area on Saturday.

Speaking with PUNCH Metro on Wednesday while being paraded at the state police command headquarters, Ikeja, Sylva confessed to have coordinated three operations, identifying the third as the abduction of a manager of a cement factory.

He said, “Lamiameni and I got the job of the Ikorodu schoolgirls for our gang. There was a third leader, called Millions. In the end, I made N300,000 from the schoolgirls’ abduction. I was a timber dealer in Delta State before coming to Lagos State.

“I stayed in the Majidun area and I have two children. I went with the gang on the day we abducted the schoolgirls. Lamiameni and others held guns. I did not. My role was to talk to the families of the schoolgirls after the whole operation.

“We carried them through the bushes. I did not let anyone rape them. If a gang member should rape any victim, we would kill him. After the Ikorodu incident, I fled to the Igbo Olomu area. It was at Igbo Olomu that I coordinated the kidnap of the Chinese manager. I got N250,000 from that operation.

“I have coordinated only three kidnap operations in Lagos State. The third was at a cement factory. It was Amos (Loko), alias Mosquito, who brought the job of the Chinese man. I was trailed and arrested in the Arepo area. I was with my girlfriend when the policemen came to arrest me. I am called Tradition because my father is an Ijaw herbalist.”

The Lagos State Commissioner of Police, Fatai Owoseni, said the command would not relent in going after criminals, adding that the suspects would be charged to court after investigation had been concluded.

Culled from PUNCH.