Former Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has once again rejected claims that a massacre occurred at the Lekki Tollgate during the October 2020 #EndSARS protests, calling the narrative fake news.
Speaking on ARISE TV on Wednesday night, December 10, the former minister, who served under the Buhari administration, addressed ongoing controversies surrounding the October 20, 2020 incident. He said his criticism of international media outlets—especially CNN—stemmed from what he described as their lack of firsthand reporting.
“Nobody ever claimed that no one died during #EndSARS. There were deaths in Abuja, Lagos, and Kano. What we said was that CNN was not at the tollgate and relied on second- and third-hand reports.
If someone’s goat doesn’t return home, they go out looking for it. Five years later, no one has come out to say, ‘My son went to the tollgate and never came back.’”
According to Mohammed, while the events of the #EndSARS protests were “tragic and unfortunate,” labeling what happened at Lekki Tollgate as a massacre is misleading.
“Calling it a massacre is fake news. Thirty-seven policemen and six soldiers lost their lives. That’s what I kept emphasizing,” he stated.
Mohammed also revisited the 2021 suspension of Twitter’s operations in Nigeria—a decision that drew widespread criticism. He insisted that the suspension was not triggered by the removal of President Buhari’s tweet, contrary to popular belief.
“That wasn’t the reason. I went to President Buhari and said, ‘Sir, we need to suspend Twitter.’ He asked why—even asked whether it was because his tweet was deleted. I said no, and gave him other examples.”
He claimed that Twitter had become the preferred platform for individuals attempting to destabilize the country.
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