Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, has urged the Nigerian government to sanction Cable News Network (CNN) for its report on the alleged shooting of unarmed #EndSARS protesters at Lekki on October 20, 2020.
Mohammed made the call in a news conference in Abuja on Thursday.
1st News reports that CNN had released a nearly six minutes long video on Wednesday, in which it alleged that the Nigerian Army had used deadly force on protesters demonstrating against police brutality. Equally important, CNN says it had analysed hours of video footage and came to the conclusion that a number of #EndSARS protesters were shot and killed in Lekki.
However, Mohammed says CNN used unverified and possibly doctored videos; as well as information from questionable sources in the report. Consequently, he had stated that the Federal Government should consider sanctions against the medium.
However, Mohammed did not specify how the FG will go about sanctioning CNN. When asked, he said he believes the medium has internal systems for dealing with erring staff; even as he stated that the Federal Government would also do what was necessary.
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1st News reports that Nigerians had taken to the streets in their numbers in October to protest against the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS), a notorious unit in the Nigerian Police which has been widely accused of kidnapping, torture, extortion and extrajudicial killing. The largely peaceful protests had, however, taken on a different turn when it was hijacked by hoodlums; some of whom critics say were sponsored by the government, especially in Lagos and Abuja.
Widespread looting had been recorded in Lagos and the government had declared a curfew; leading to the shooting incident on October 20.
International human rights group, Amnesty international said 12 protesters were killed. The Nigerian Army, which initially denied involvement, later owned up to sending troops to the Lekki Toll Gate. However, it said their duty was basically to enforce the curfew. Also, it denied using live ammunition on protesters and says operatives only fired blanks into the air.
Meanwhile, Mohammed, who also spoke on the contentious move to regulate social media, says the Nigerian government is keen to check the trend in which media companies use materials obtained on social media without verification. He said the government had no plans to shut down social media. However, he disclosed that the plan was to regulate its use.
