The Federal Government has threatened to sanction CNN, over its report on the alleged shooting of #EndSARS protesters by soldiers at the Lekki toll plaza on October 20, 2020.
The government described the report by the foreign news medium as “irresponsible journalism”.
Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, stated this at a press conference in Abuja today.
According to him, the briefing was conveyed to address lingering issues regarding the #EndSARS protests for police reform that rocked the nation last month.
He described the event of October 20, 2020 as a “massacre without bodies”, insisting that not a single body has been produced or a single family has come out to claim their family member was killed at the Lekki tollgate.
The minister alleged that CNN relied on social media videos without verification to produce its report.
“This should earn CNN a serious sanction for irresponsible reporting,” Mohammed said.
He also claimed some “unscrupulous persons” including celebrities circulated fake news on the social media that aggravated the violence that trailed the two-week demonstration.
CNN had published an investigative report this week claiming soldiers fired live ammunition directly at protesters at the Lekki toll gate.