The federal government has declared that the report of CNN on the EndSARS Lekki Toll Gate, Lagos, shooting is irresponsible and capable of setting Nigeria on fire.
In a letter by the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, to the organisation, the federal government said the report titled “How a bloody night of bullets quashed a young protest movement” was fraught with irregularities and falsehood.
It therefore called on the organisation to carry out a thorough probe of the report to determine its authenticity.
The letter reads in part: “As a form of remediation, Nigeria’s Federal Government demands an immediate and exhaustive investigation from CNN into its ‘investigative’ report on the Lekki Toll Gate incident to determine, among others, its authenticity, whether or not it met the basic standards of journalism and also the selective use of unverified social media videos to manipulate public opinion.”
The federal government warned that it (government), had the right to take actions that would prevent it from escalating the tension which followed the EndSARS protest in the country.
“While it is up to CNN to accede or not, please note that the Federal Government reserves the right to take any action within its laws to prevent CNN from aggravating the #EndSARS crisis with unprofessional, irresponsible, one-sided, inciting and sensational reporting that is capable of pitching Nigerians against themselves and setting the country on fire,” the statement reads further.
The letter dated November 23, 2020, was addressed to Mr. Jonathan Hawkins, VP, Communications, CNN Centre.
