The Digest:
Former Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has once again dismissed allegations of a massacre at the Lekki Toll Gate during the 2020 EndSARS protests, labelling the widely reported incident as "fake news." He asserted that no family has come forward in five years to claim a missing relative from the toll gate.
Key Points:
- Mohammed acknowledged that deaths occurred in various locations during the EndSARS protests but maintained that claims of a specific toll gate massacre were unfounded.
- He criticized international media, specifically CNN, for reporting "second-hand information" without being present at the scene.
- The former minister challenged the narrative by stating, "It has been 5 years, and nobody has come to tell us their child went to the toll gate and didn’t return."
- The EndSARS protests of October 2020 were a nationwide movement against police brutality, culminating in significant clashes and reported casualties.
- The Lekki Toll Gate incident remains one of the most controversial episodes, with activists, eyewitnesses, and some judicial panels reporting shootings by security forces.
- Mohammed's comments reiterate the official government position that has consistently countered allegations of a military-led killing at the site.
- The statement has reignited public debate and anger on social media, reflecting the unresolved trauma and divergent accounts of that night.
Sources: Arise TV interview, Vanguard
