After soldiers invaded the Lekki tollgate in Lagos on
October 20, 2020, during the #EndSARS protests and shot at protesters, Lai Mohammed,
minister of information, said nobody was killed at the tollgate.
In the past one year, Mohammed has consistently disputed the
report that protesters died at the tollgate, while attacking international
organisations that reported the killings by the Nigerian Army.
On Monday a report of the Lagos state judicial panel on police
brutality — including investigation on the Lekki massacre — seen by TheCable,
said protesters were killed at the tollgate in what the panel described as a
“massacre”.
Here are highlights of some of the instances Mohammed said
no protester was killed at the Lekki tollgate.
LAI ATTACKS DJ
SWITCH, SAYS SHE IS A FRAUD OVER LEKKI MASSACRE
In November 2020, the minister attacked DJ Switch, a disc
jockey, who filmed the army shooting #EndSARS protesters at Lekki tollgate,
saying she will soon be “exposed for who she is”.
Lai, who described the disc jockey as a “purveyor of fake
news,” questioned her motive for saying protesters were killed by the army,
which he said was “suspicious”.
“One of the purveyors
of fake news was one DJ Switch which real name is Obianuju Catherine Udeh, even
though she claimed authentic evidence of mass killings. Surprisingly, instead
of presenting whatever evidence she may have, she chose to escape from the
country on the claim that her life was in danger,” the minister had said.
LAI WRITES CNN, SAYS
REPORT ON LEKKI CAPABLE OF SETTING NIGERIA ON FIRE
Again, in November 2020, the information minister said the
report of CNN on the Lekki shooting “did not just fall short of journalistic
standards but reinforces the disinformation that is going around on the issue”.
The minister, in the letter written to CNN, said the
international platform left out video which could have shown that “armed
hoodlums invaded the Lekki Toll Gate that night, and could have hit any of the
protesters as they shot sporadically”.
“This is clearly a ploy by the CNN reporter/presenter to
manipulate viewers of its ‘investigative’ report and force them to draw the
reporter’s desired conclusion,” the minister wrote.
‘COME OUT WITH YOUR
PROOF OR SHUT UP’ — LAI HITS AMNESTY OVER LEKKI SHOOTING
In January, the information minister asked Amnesty
International (AI) to show proof of the 12 people killed during the shooting at
the Lekki tollgate or “shut up”.
Mohammed said the human rights organisation was gradually
losing credibility, and asked AI to come out with evidence of the people killed
by the military.
‘NOBODY HAS COME
FORWARD TO PRODUCE EVIDENCE OF PEOPLE KILLED AT LEKKI‘
Again, in February, the information minister said nobody has
come forward to produce evidence of those killed at Lekki tollgate.
Mohammed described the report of killings at the Lekki
tollgate as “fake news and unverified social media reports”.
‘NO PROOF ANY
PROTESTER WAS KILLED AT LEKKI TOLLGATE’
During the first anniversary of the Lekki tollgate shooting
in October, the information minister, in a press briefing, said there is no
proof that any protester was killed at the Lekki tollgate, last year.
The minister described the incident at the tollgate as a
“phantom massacre”, saying it is the “first massacre in the world without blood
or bodies”.
“One year later, and despite ample opportunities for the
families of those allegedly killed and those alleging a massacre to present evidence,
there has been none: No bodies, no families, no convincing evidence, nothing,”
the minister had said.
“Where are the families of those who were reportedly killed
at the toll gate? Did they show up at the Judicial Panel of Inquiry? If not,
why?”
Culled- TheCable
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The Minister is a shame to its Portfolio and need to resign honourably and go back to his family.
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