The back and forth dragging by the Federal government of Nigeria and CNN over whether or not there was the shooting of unarmed protesters (the alleged Lekki massacre) during the EndSARS protests, continued on Thursday, as CNN dared the government to provide evidence that the incident of October 20th 2020 at the Lekki Toll Gate did not happen.
CNN had said this as a reply to the Federal government of Nigeria, which through the Minister of Information and Culture, Mr Lai Mohammed, had threatened to sanction the international news network for their report on the alleged Lekki massacre during the #EndSARS protest in Lagos.
According to the report by CNN, the news outlet replying to the government’s threats, stated that they are standing by their reports on the alleged Lekki massacre. They shared details on how they went about their investigation on the Lekki toll gate shooting by the Nigerian Army and Police, before they released the video evidence to the public to see.
The CNN report said:
“CNN’s investigation focused on a demonstration against police brutality, led by the largely peaceful “#EndSARS” movement.
Minister for Information and Culture Lai Mohammed Thursday dismissed the CNN investigation as “fake news” and “misinformation,” repeatedly denying the military used live rounds against protesters.
The network even quoted some parts of speech made by Lai Mohammed at his Abuja conference, quoting him saying:
“Like everyone else, I watched the CNN report. I must tell you that it reinforces the disinformation that is going around, and it is blatantly irresponsible and a poor piece of journalistic work by a reputable international news organization,” he said.
“This is very serious and CNN should be sanctioned for that,” he said.
In replying, CNN spokesperson was quoted to have said:
“CNN stands by its investigation”.
“Our reporting was carefully and meticulously researched, and we stand by it”.
The report continued by adding that:
“The report was based on testimony from dozens of witnesses, and photos and video obtained and geolocated by CNN. It painted a picture of how members of the Nigerian army and the police shot at the crowd, killing at least one person and wounding dozens more.
CNN verified photos and videos acquired from multiple eyewitnesses and protesters using timestamps and other data from the video files. Video footage shows soldiers who appear to be shooting in the direction of protesters. And accounts from eyewitnesses established that after the army withdrew, a second round of shooting happened later in the evening.
Prior to publishing the report, CNN tried multiple times to elicit comment from the Nigerian army and police. A Lagos State police spokesman declined to comment because of an ongoing investigation. While a statement from the Lagos State government said that there would be no comment while a judicial tribunal was underway,”.
The report added that:
“CNN also included comments from army representative Brigadier Ahmed Taiwo, testifying before the tribunal. He denied that soldiers would shoot at Nigerian citizens.
The investigation was broadcast and published on Wednesday and cast doubt on Nigerian authorities’ shifting and changing statements over what happened at the protest at the Lekki toll gate in Lagos”, the news network added.
CNN also berated Lai Mohammed for praising the actions of the Military and Police that resulted to the alleged Lekki massacre on the 20th October 2020, where they the Minister as saying:
“the military did not shoot at the protesters at the toll gate” but fired blank ammunitions into the air, blaming looters for the violence which broke out on the night of October 20.
“Six soldiers and 37 policemen were killed all over the country during the crisis,” Mohammed was quoted as saying.
CNN also blasted the Minister for not providing any evidence the videos were doctored.
The CNN report included evidence that bullet casings from the scene matched those used by the Nigerian army when shooting live rounds, according to current and former Nigerian military officials.
Two ballistics experts also confirmed with CNN that the shape of the bullet casings indicate they used live rounds, which contradicts the army’s claim they fired blanks.
While the Minister for Information and Culture asserted that “not a single family” has reported the death of relatives during the protest on October 20, the Chief Coroner of Lagos State has since issued a public call for all those who have “lost loved ones between 19 — 27 October 2020” to come forward and provide evidence which could assist in the “identification exercise.”