Cable News Network has said it stands by its report on the shooting of #EndSARS protesters at the Lekki Tollgate.
CNN was reacting to the threat of sanctions by the Federal Government, which has dismissed the report, labelling it as misinformation.
A statement by its spokesperson read, “our reporting was carefully and meticulously researched, and we stand by it”.
Lai Mohammed, Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture said at a press conference in Abuja Thursday that what had been promoted as Lekki shooting was nothing but “massacre without bodies”.
Mohammed accused CNN of recycling in its reports images that had been circulating in the social media, even though it said its work was the product of an investigative report.
He said CNN should be sanctioned.
He said the government was awaiting the outcome of the panel investigating the matter, adding “we can say that the world has just witnessed a massacre without bodies” in Lekki.
Nigerian youths embarked on #EndSARS protests to vent their anger against the brutality of a notorious unit created to tackle violent crimes including armed robbery, kidnapping, and banditry. The unit soon morphed into a murderous squad, with rampant cases of killings, extortion, and torture.
The protest turned bloody on the night of October 20, 2020, when men in military attire opened fire on the unarmed protesters, who had occupied the Lekki Tollgate, in Lagos.
CNN said its report was based on testimony from dozens of witnesses and verified footage of soldiers appe
