#EndSARS: Lai Mohammed Describes Lekki Shooting As ‘Massacre Without Bodies’, Threatens To Sanction CNN Over Report
Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed has condemned CNN’s latest report of the fatal shooting of peaceful and unarmed #EndSARS protesters at Lekki tollgate on October 20 by security agents believed to be soldiers.
According to Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, the shooting incident was a “massacre without bodies”, dismissing CNN’s report as a piece of “irresponsible journalism”.
Mohammed described the investigative report by CNN on the shooting as one-dimensional and lacking in balance.
He insisted that CNN should be sanctioned for misinformation and irresponsible reporting, just as he maintained that the military fired blank bullets into the air and not at the crowd.
When asked by a reporter to specify which body he thought would sanction the US-based news channel, Mohammed said;
I believe that CNN itself has internal mechanisms to discipline erring staff, but on our own part also we would do the needful.
CNN in its report titled “How a bloody night of bullets and brutality quashed a young protest movement” published on Wednesday, November 18 gave a graphical account of what transpired on the night of Tuesday, October 20 at the Lekki Tollgate, including video, pictorial evidence and interviews with victims and their relatives.
Mohammed tagged CNN’s report as promoting a baseless and preconceived narrative, adding that the mainstream media should confirm the veracity of footage used before airing.
He also 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 toll gate.
The minister added that the Federal Government will work with stakeholders to curb fake news on social media.
Mohammed asked international community not to be misled by posts on social media to impose sanctions on Nigeria, adding that CNN relied on unverified and doctored videos.
He said;
This should earn CNN a serious sanction for irresponsible reporting.
More details to come.
