No proof any protester was killed at Lekki Toll Gate, says FG

One year after, the federal government says there is no evidence to prove that any protester was killed at the Lekki toll gate in Lagos state on October 20, 2020, during the EndSARS protest.

Lai Mohammed, Minister of Information and culture speaking at a press briefing in Abuja on Wednesday, insisted that the military did not shoot at protesters at the toll gate and the only massacre recorded was in the social media, “hence there were neither bodies nor blood.”

It would be recalled that on October 20, 2020, security operatives reportedly shot at killing and injured many. Amnesty International had claimed that no fewer than 12 protesters were killed.

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But, the Minister said, “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. 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?” he said.

Mohammed said Amnesty International, CNN, “a runaway DJ” and others should apologise for misleading the world that there was a massacre at the Lekki Toll Gate and for portraying the Nigerian military, police, and other security agencies in a bad light.

Mohammed said the federal government remains proud of the security agencies for acting “professionally and showing utmost restraint all through the EndSARS protest and the ensuing violence, an action that saved lives and properties.”

“The six soldiers and 37 policemen who died during the EndSARS protests are human beings with families, even though the Human Rights Organizations and CNN simply ignored their deaths, choosing instead to trumpet a phantom massacre”, Mohammed said.