CNN, Amnesty Should Tender Apology - FG
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, yesterday on behalf of the federal government, demanded apologies from Amnesty International (AI) and the Cable News Network (CNN) for their ‘misleading’ reports that security agencies shot and killed some people during last year’s #EndSARS protest at Lekki Toll Gate. He said the two organisations spurned invitations extended to them by the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry to defend the “phantom massacre” of protesters claimed by them.
The minister, who addressed journalists yesterday in Abuja to mark the first anniversary of the protest, said there was no evidence that anyone was killed or shot by security agencies.
He took a swipe at CNN and AI for ignoring the fate of the six soldiers and 37 policemen who died during the protests and instead trumpeting a “phantom massacre.”
The minister said the testimony of ballistic experts before the panel indicated that injuries sustained by the victims were not from gunshots fired by the military but locally-fabricated weapons.
“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.
“Sadly, the champions of a massacre at the Lekki Toll Gate, including Amnesty International and CNN, have continued to shamelessly hold on to their unproven stand,” he said.
Dailytrust.com
