Lekki Shooting: CNN Investigative Report ‘Irresponsible’-Lai Mohammed

The federal government of Nigeria has described the CNN investigative report on the Lekki shooting which occurred on October 20 as one-dimensional and lacking in balance.

Reacting to the report by the US-based media, the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, on Thursday said CNN relied on social media sources and videos in producing its report. “This should earn CNN a serious sanction for irresponsible reporting,” Mohammed said.

Describing the event of October 20, 2020 as a “massacre without bodies, Mohammed insisted that not a single body has been produced or a single family has come out to claim their family member was killed at the Lekki tollgate.

He futher said there’s no reason to doubt the Army’s position as stated by the Commander of 81 Military Intelligence Brigade, Victoria Island, Lagos, Brig. Gen. Ahmed Taiwo, who said only blank ammunition was fired at peaceful #EndSARS protesters in Lekki, Lagos.
“We never said soldiers were never at the toll gate. They shot into the air.”

He went on to blast CNN saying that the media totaly ignoreed the several looting, violence by citizens which led to 269 private facilities being burnt while 243 govt facilities vandalized.

He however advised persons with evidence on the Lekki shootings to give its testimony before the panel.

The CNN report released on Wednesday contradicted some of the claims made by the Nigerian Army on what transpired at the Lekki toll gate, where an undetermined number of #EndSARS protesters were allegedly killed.

Contrary to the army’s claim that its soldiers did not shoot live bullets at unarmed protesters, CNN said several footages and satellite images analyzed by its reporters showed men in military uniforms shooting in the direction of protesters at the popular toll gate in Lagos.