CDWR, in a statement issued by its national chairperson, Comrade Rufus Olusesan and national publicity secretary, Comrade Chinedu Bosah listed the arrested persons as: Hassan Taiwo Soweto; Ilesanmi Kehinde; Uadiale Kingsley; Osopale Adeseye; Osugba Blessing; Kayode Anaheim; Michael Adedeji; Jennifer Rita; Orunsolu Oluremi, and Prof. Seyi Akinde.

Others are Akin Okunowon; Ugochukwu Prince; Aishat Omolara; Thomas Abiodun; Aghedo Kehinde; Duroorike Olawale; Isaac Obasi; Funmilyo Jolade; Godeon Adeyemi; Afeez Suleiman; Ogbu Obinna and Olamilekan Sanusi.

The group said operatives of the Nigeria Police Force attacked “the peaceful Endbadgovernance members who were converging for the memorial programme at Lekki.”

READ ALSO: Reuben Abati’s remembering Oluremi Oyo, By Bola Bolawole

The group said the 22 people were subsequently arrested and detained at the Lagos State SCID facility at Panti Yaba.

“This is one arrest and detention too many,” the statement reads in part.

Calling for the immediate release of those arrested, CDWR declared: “We state boldly that protest and dissent are not crimes, oppressing and attacking democratic rights is a crime that must stop.”

The post EndSARS: CDWR demands release of persons arrested Sunday appeared first on Frontpageng.

The appeal was made by Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr. Gbenga Omotosho, and his counterparts in Transport, Dr. Fredericks Oladehinde, as well as Home Affairs, Prince Anofi Elegushi, respectively during a stakeholders’ meeting held on Wednesday at The Lekki Coliseum in Lekki Phase 1, Lagos.

They assured the residents that Lagos State government would look into all the requests and recommendations made by the stakeholders and respond appropriately.

The stakeholders meeting which was held to engage key residents on LCC’s plan to reopen the Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge Toll Plaza, was attended by key stakeholders which included, the President of Lekki Estates Residents and Stakeholders Association, LERSA, Olorogun James Emadoye; human rights activists, the media and several other residents of Lekki, among others.

Responding to the key stakeholders who expressed their views about the LCC decision to reopen the Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge Toll Plaza in April, Omotoso commended the speakers and implored them to show some understanding with the Lagos State government.

He said: “We are here to seek your understanding as a government about the matter at hand. We are also citizens of Nigeria. We are all Lagosians. I have listened to all of you talking about our rights, privileges and how government should be responsible for everything. I also feel that as citizens, we should have some responsibilities.

“Lagos is a city of about 25 million people and out of the 25 million people there are about six million taxpayers and among six million taxpayers, only 4.2 million are active taxpayers. So, let us reflect on all these things. I know how people feel and I understand what has been said but I believe that the matter at hand is about seeking your understanding. It is a matter of showing some compassion for people who have one thing or another to do with this company.”

Dr. Oladehinde who also appealed to the people not to be shortsighted said the decision of the government was not to punish people but to create an enabling environment for more jobs through private sector participation.

“What Lagos State is trying to do is to create an enabling environment to create more jobs and when you create more jobs. We should not be shortsighted. The only way to create jobs is to create an environment where we can attract the private sector to build more infrastructure in the state. Let us look at the issue from the view that we are trying to resuscitate the economy of Lagos State,” he said.

Also speaking, the Commissioner for Home Affairs, Prince Anofi Elegushi, said the purpose of the stakeholders’ meeting was to engage key stakeholders on the matter of reopening the Lekki-Ikoyi Link Bridge Toll Plaza.

He appealed for cooperation from the people, saying “we must all work together.”

In his address, the Managing Director/CEO of Lekki Concession Company Limited (LCC), Mr. Yomi Omomuwasan, said the resumption of operations was necessary for the company not to default on its payment of local and international loans as well as to cater for the welfare of its workers.

He said LCC had also introduced new technology and innovations to make movement at the Toll Plaza seamless and faster for commuters.

Speaking earlier some of the speakers expressed their views about the plan to reopen the toll plaza, pleading to the state government to halt the process for now.

The residents based their plea on the harsh economic situation in the country, saying that the tolling would aggravate the situation.

In his response, Omotoso appealed to the residents to consider the number of Lagosians, whose sources of livelihood also depended on the tollgate.

Meanwhile the Lekki Concession Company has stated that tolling would kick off officially on the 1st of April but motorists would be given a two-week free access at the toll plaza.

According to Omomuwasan, payments for access would start on April 14, 2022.

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DJ Switch whose name is Obianuju Udeh is a Nigerian disc jockey who is on self-imposed exile over 2020 EndSARS protest and the Lekki toll gate incidence.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji  Lai Mohammed said the trio should tender unreserved apology for portraying the Nigerian military, police and other security agencies in bad light.

Addressing newsmen on Wednesday in Abuja on the first anniversary of the Lekki toll gate incidence, the minister reiterated that contrary to the claims by CNN, Amnesty International and the disc jockey, the military did not shoot at protesters.

“CNN acted unprofessionally by relying on unverified, and possibly-doctored social media videos, as well as other open-source information to conclude that a massacre took place at the toll gate.

“On its part, CNN went from 38 people killed to two to just one, after a supposed global exclusive even when the network had no reporter on ground at the Lekki Toll Gate on October 20, 2020.

“On Monday, the Judicial Panel of Inquiry that was set up by the Lagos State Government after the EndSARS protest wrapped up its sitting.

“During the sitting, CNN was summoned but it never showed up, thus missing a great opportunity to prove its allegation of massacre at the toll gate.

“In its latest attempt to grasp at straws and redeem whatever is left of its battered credibility on this issue, CNN has continued with its baseless report that soldiers shot at protesters,’’ he said.

The minister said Amnesty International also had a golden opportunity to convince the world, but it rather opted for issuing “meaningless press releases”.

Mohammed condemned a current report running on the CNN network on the purported massacre contending that the international news platform acted unprofessionally.

“CNN brazenly and unashamedly held on to its flawed narrative, relying on an unidentified mother whose son was reportedly shot dead at Lekki, but without convincing evidence of who shot him dead.

“The same CNN that tweeted on October 23, 2020 that 38 people were shot dead at Lekki is now struggling to convince the world that one boy was killed at Lekki. What a shame,’’ he said.

He said the federal government remained proud of the security agencies for acting professionally and showing restraint all through the EndSARS protests and the ensuing violence.

The minister said it was the professionalism and restraint of the security agencies that saved lives and property of many.

“The six soldiers and 37 policemen who died during the EndSARS protests are human beings with families even though the Human Rights Organisations and CNN simply ignored their deaths, choosing instead to trumpet a phantom massacre,’’ he said.

Source: NAN

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It cited the subsisting bank debts and the fate of its over 500 workers as compelling reasons the process ought to begin now.

Speaking at a press conference in Lagos on Monday, Managing Director of the LCC, Yomi Omomuwasan, expressed regret that some people were using fake news to misinform Nigerians about the company’s ownership and whip up public sentiment against its return to business.

Omomuwasan said while LCC empathises with Nigerians who suffered one loss or the other during the #EndSARS protest, continuing to punish LCC whose facility was forcefully taken over by the protesters for whatever happened on October 20, 2020, would be a regrettable double whammy for the company.

He explained that the non-return of the company to operation was negatively affecting LCC’s subsisting loan obligations to local and international lenders, maintenance of the road, its ancillary services and most importantly, the welfare of its staff some of whom have been home since the incident in October.

He disclosed that LCC owed N23.9 billion and $49.6 million to local and foreign lenders as of December 31, 2011.

He, however, lamented that the forceful takeover of the Tollgate by #ENDSARS protesters and its subsequent destruction had affected its ability to service its debts.

He said, “As of January 31, 2021, the outstanding debt liability from the local lenders is in the region of N11.6 billion and from the foreign lenders $31.1 million (USD), with the difference being the amount LCC has so far paid the lenders. It is important to say that, before the #ENDSARS protest, LCC had continued to meet up with servicing its loan obligations without default to the lenders.

“However, since the commencement of the #ENDSARS protest, the forceful takeover of the Admiralty Circle Toll Plaza and the unfortunate incident of Tuesday 20, October 2020, we have had to plead for moratorium repeatedly with our local and international lenders. It has been impossible to meet our loan repayment obligations- and obligations to our workers- given our inability to collect tolls, the main revenue source from which the repayment was contractually expected to come.

“Again, this explains where the bulk of our earnings goes, contrary to the false claims on social media that the toll plaza is a cash cow. If we default in payment of these loans, the implications for the business community are too grave to be imagined.”

The MD further explained that contrary to allegations that all the company does is collect tolls, the LCC renders a host of value-added services. “Daily users of the Eti-Osa-Lekki-Epe Expressway would testify that LCC provides free 24/7 towing services, accident and breakdown recovery, emergency services and 24-hr security patrol along the express road. LCC is solely responsible for the man-power and operational cost of all of these ancillary services at no cost to road users,” he said.

Reacting to the Admiralty Circle Toll Plaza’s alleged designation as a crime scene by the Lagos Judicial Panel of Inquiry and its reported shutdown, Omomuwasan said nothing could be further than the truth.

The Toll Plaza, he explained, was never shut down.

“LCC was only asked to leave the Plaza untouched until the completion of the forensic audit instituted by the honourable Panel. It is important to recall also that at no time was the Toll Plaza ever designated ‘a crime scene” by the Panel, as this would have warranted the total stoppage of vehicular movement at that section of the road. On the contrary, vehicular movement has continued unhindered on the road since Wednesday, October 21, 2021,” Omomuwasan said.

The Managing Director further explained that the Panel’s ruling permitted it to access the Toll Plaza, evaluate and assess damages and necessary renovation.

According to Omomuwasan, “Nowhere in the world is a company shut down indefinitely over an enquiry into an incident. We must bear in mind that as a business, we also have hundreds of workers, who have thousands of dependents, to take care of and monthly financial obligations to honour. Besides, evaluation and restoration require time, and further delay can only worsen the company’s situation as a going concern.”

On allegations that the LCC paid some outdoor advertising companies, the MD said it was a lie and that the opposite was the case.

“As part of efforts to open up other streams of income to service our loan obligations and continually maintain the road as done in other climes, LCC partnered with various advertising agencies, who then pay LCC from the revenue they generate from their advertising platforms. It gives us a sense of fulfilment to note that most of these agencies are the new generation advertising agencies owned by young Nigerians.”

He gave the names of the outdoor advertising agencies as E-Motion Advertising Ltd, Prodigy Advertising Ltd, Loatsad Promo media Ltd and Eye Kontact Ltd.

He said while the companies actually paid LCC for the use of its advertising platforms, some purveyors of fake news had again gone to town to misinform the public that LCC paid one of the companies, a claim he described as totally false.

Omomuwasan also disclosed LCC’s ownership structure, saying four private firms originally owned it before the Lagos State Government acquired it.

“As of December 31 2011, the shareholders of the company were African Infrastructure Investment Fund (AIIF); Asset and Resources Management Company Ltd (ARM), Larue Projects Company Ltd, Hi-Tech Construction Ltd. However, in December 2014, the Lagos State Government acquired 100% shareholding right in the company. The shares were accordingly allotted as 75% to the Lagos State Government and 25% to the Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Office. The records are there at the Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC)’ including the regular filing of returns and tax obligations.”

Speaking on the maltreatment of some protesters at Saturday’s protest at the Admiralty Toll Plaza, Lagos State Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Mr Gbenga Omotoso said, Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has directed the Lagos State Police Commissioner to fish out the culprit and ensure justice was served in line with the appropriate rules of the Nigerian Police Force.

The post LCC speaks on bank debts, ownership and fate of over 500 workers appeared first on Frontpageng.

No fewer than 15 protesters were arrested and taken to Adeniji police station.

The NCF said it was the right of the people to engage in peaceful protest hence they should be released.

The statement issued by its chieftain, Mr. Wale Okunniyi, reads: “The NCFront of the Leaders of Conscience in Nigeria, demands restraint and decorum from Nigeria’s security agents, especially the Police as peaceful protest is a constitutional right of every Nigerian citizen. It will be disastrous to turn this peaceful assembly of the Nigerian youths to another riot.

“The NCFront therefore demands the immediate release of all those arrested and being currently being detained by the Police.”

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It declared that it was not an auspicious moment for such action.

The position of the state government was made known at a joint press conference held at the Press Centre on Thursday by the Attorney General of Lagos, Mr. Moyosore Onigbanjo, SAN; Commissioner for Information and Strategy, Gbenga Omotoso, and Commissioner of Police, Mr. Hakeem Odumosu.

The government said it acknowledged the rights of the citizens to a lawful assembly and freedom to express their feelings as guaranteed by Section 39 and 40 of the Constitution, but it said the rights did not give any citizen the freedom to block highways and prevent other citizens from moving freely within the state.

Onigbanjo said the government would not allow any group to push the state, once again, to the edge of carnage, strongly advising those organising the “Occupy Lekki Toll Gate” and “Defend Lagos” protests to desist from the planned action.

He said the state government’s respect for the citizens’ rights to protest should not be seen as a licence to break the laws, warning that any individual or corporate organisation that incited an action leading to the destruction of public and private properties would be prosecuted and made to pay damages.

He said: “Attention of the state government has been drawn to the planned protest scheduled for Saturday February 13, 2021 at the Lekki Toll Gate for and against the opening of the Admiralty Toll Gate. The state is aware of Sections 39 and 40 of the 1999 Constitution (as amended), which guarantees the rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly. However, such right does not permit the violation of the rights of other citizens in the state.

“While the state recognises the importance of exercising the rights to peaceful protests, the same cannot extend to blockage of roads or actions preventing other members of the public from enjoying their fundamental rights to move freely within the State. Any individual or corporate body that incites or condones any act leading to the destruction of public and private properties shall be prosecuted under the extant laws and in addition to any penalty the court might pronounce. Such person or body will be liable to compensate for any damage, which may arise as a result of the action or inaction of such person or body.”

The Attorney General also said the public health crisis occasioned by the spread of deadly variants of the Coronavirus (COVID-19) should discourage anyone attempting to assemble people for the planned protests, urging all groups to consider COVID-19 protocols that limit public gathering not to be more than 50 persons.

Onigbanjo, therefore, directed the State’s Police Command to stop opposing groups from holding rallies in Lekki and any other parts of Lagos.

Odumosu said the security intelligence gathered by the Police Command indicated the “Occupy Lekki Toll Gate” protest and planned counter rallies would degenerate into a breakdown of law and order, stressing that the police would not allow any group to carry out the action.

The police chief said adequate arrangements on the deployment of security forces had been put in place to stop any violent protest, gathering and procession in any part of Lagos, stressing that the Police Command would rise in protection of law-abiding residents from any form of the violence.

He said: “The Police Command has gathered credible intelligence that some hidden agents of destruction and shadow parties that orchestrated the last EndSARS violence have concluded plans to cause another mayhem in Lagos and spread the same to other parts of the country, tactically and spontaneously, like the recent violence.

“Premised on the available intelligence and due threat analyses carried out on the planned protest, the Police Command perceives such proposed protest as a calculated attempt to cause pandemonium and massive destruction of lives and properties under whatever guise; such will not be allowed to hold in Lagos.”

Odumosu appealed to the general public to advise their wards to ignore mobilisation for the protest and gathering in flouting the existing peace and security situation of the state.

He said the police would resist the protest with necessary force, while respecting the rights of law-abiding citizens.

Omotoso said the steps taken by the state government on the planned protest was not to take away the fundamental rights of the citizens, but to prevent re-enactment of the event that led to destruction of public and private assets last October.

The commissioner sued for peace, urging the organisers of the planned protests and rallies to allow the Lagos Judicial Panel of Inquiry conclude its investigation on what transpired between the military and EndSARS protesters.

“We believe this kind of tension and anxiety being brought forward by the planned protest will not allow the panel to do a thorough job. If the authorities allow the protest and counter rallies to go on, there would be a breakdown of order and Lagos is not ripe for such action. It is on this premise that the state government is appealing to all parties to thread with caution. Both sides have the right to express their feelings, but the time is wrong,” Omotoso said.

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Our attention has been drawn to an ‘investigation’ by CNN, entitled ‘How a Bloody Night of Bullets Quashed a Young Protest Movement’ and aired on 18 Nov. 2020, in which the international news organization said it had “uncovered that Nigerian security forces opened fire on unarmed protesters” at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos, Nigeria, during the #EndSARS protest.

We write to put on record that the report did not just fall short of journalistic standards, it reinforces the disinformation that is going around on the issue, it is blatantly irresponsible and it is a poor piece of journalistic work by a reputable international news organization.

In the first instance, the report did not live up to the most basic of the core principles of journalism – balance and fairness. According to the website www.ethics.journalists.org, “balance and fairness are classic buzzwords of journalism ethics: In objective journalism, stories must be balanced in the sense of attempting to present all sides of a story. Fairness means that a journalist should strive for accuracy and truth in reporting, and not slant a story so a reader draws the reporter’s desired conclusion.”

Rushing to air such a momentous story without presenting the government’s side is inexcusable and indefensible. CNN said it contacted over 100 protesters and family members, but did not speak to one official of Nigeria’s federal government. While CNN said there was no response from the army and that officials of Lagos State would not speak in view of the Judicial Panel that is investigating the matter, it did not say what effort it made to speak with any official of the federal government.

The truth is that CNN did not even attempt to reach the federal government. Nima Elbagir, who presented the report and most probably led the investigation, is conversant with the Minister of Information and Culture, who is also the Spokesman for the Federal Government of Nigeria, yet did not say that she even tried to reach the Minister. It is therefore strange, to say the least, that she would rush to air such an important ‘investigation’ report without getting the government’s side. In other words, Nima, and by extension CNN, breached the most basic of the core principles of journalism – balance and fairness.

CNN has said it stands by its story, and that “our reporting was carefully and meticulously researched”, This is baffling, considering that the story lacks fairness and balance, as we have pointed out, and that the organization relied heavily on manipulated social media videos.

Another serious breach by CNN, in its ‘investigation’, is that the network relied heavily on unverified footages it harvested from social media. CNN was not present at the Lekki Toll Gate on the night of the incident. Neither its reporter nor cameraman was there, but it relied on eyewitnesses. Well, this is fraught with danger. While experts say eyewitness testimony is a potent form of evidence, it is also subject to unconscious memory distortions and biases, Unlike CNN, a reporter from the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) Pidgin Service, Damilola Banjo, was at the Lekki Toll Gate on the night in question, and was quoted as saying soldiers shot sporadically into the air and not at the protesters –  a direct contradiction of the position taken by CNN who relied on second and third-hand information.

In airing its ‘investigative’ report, CNN conveniently forgot that on Oct. 23rd 2020, it emphatically tweeted, from its verified twitter handle, that the military killed 38 people when it opened fire on peaceful protesters on Tuesday, Oct. 20th 2020. Almost a month later, the same CNN – after a supposedly exhaustive investigation – is now reporting only one death from what the world was made to believe was a massacre. Is CNN not embarrassed by this sharp climbdown? Has CNN owned up to this and apologized for its faux paz?

It is also interesting that while CNN obtained footage showing when the vehicles carrying soldiers left their barracks and arrived at the Lekki Toll Gate, it could not obtain any footage showing the bodies of those supposedly killed in the ‘massacre’. After all, forensic ballistic experts will most likely testify that firing military grade weapons into a crowd will not leave anyone needing a microscope to look for blood or bodies at the scene.

CNN has said it stands by its story, and that “our reporting was carefully and meticulously researched”, This is baffling, considering that the story lacks fairness and balance, as we have pointed out, and that the organization relied heavily on manipulated social media videos. This resort to an escapist cliche seems more like a face-saving measure by an otherwise respectable news network caught in the blinding glare of ‘fake news and disinformation’ headlamps. Or how else does one explain the arrogant defence of an international news network that would not even respect the most basic principle of journalism?

One of CNN’s star eyewitnesses in its ‘investigative’ reporting is DJ Switch. Unknown to CNN, DJ Switch’s story on the Lekki Toll Gate shooting has changed several times. From claiming she counted 78 bodies of protesters who were supposedly killed by soldiers on the night of the Lekki Toll Gate incident, she has twice, at least, changed the casualty figure from 78 to 15 and then to 7, without a shred of evidence. CNN cannot pretend not to know that for anyone to act as a witness, his or her credibility must be unimpeachable. DJ Switch’s credibility does not meet that threshold.

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.

In one of social media videos of DJ Switch that was used by CNN (see attached link 1), the lady (DJ Switch) claimed she and some unnamed persons carried dead bodies and dropped them at the feet of the soldiers. She also claimed she spoke to their Commander before the soldiers threw the bodies into the vans. Curiously, for someone who was streaming live on Instagram during the Lekki Toll Gate incident, there was not a single video or picture of the dead bodies. Not even Godson (Uyi), another CNN star witness whose video was also used by the network, or any of the hundreds of protesters, all armed with smart phones, at the scene recorded a video or shot a picture of dead bodies being carried away by soldiers.

Talking of Godson, despite claiming to have analyzed hours of footage, it is curious that CNN conveniently left out key parts of Godson’s 57-minute, 5-second video (see attached link 2). For example, 13 minutes, 40 seconds into the video, there were voices, in street lingo, in the background telling Godson that the gunshots were not from the soldiers (na boys dey shoot, that na local gun sound….it’s boys, meaning touts and hoodlums, who are shooting. That’s local gun). Some 20 minutes, 14 seconds into the video, Godson confirmed that the boys had brought out their guns and were shooting (local okah, he called it). Some 23 minutes, 14 seconds into the video, Godson said ‘wait, all these boys dey shoot’ (meaning gunshots rang out from the touts/hoodlums). CNN, in its rush to nail soldiers and tell a ‘radically different story’, conveniently left out these parts of the Godson video, which could have shown that armed hoodlums invaded the Lekki Toll Gate that night, and could have hit any of the protesters as they shot sporadically. This is clearly a ploy by the CNN reporter/presenter to manipulate viewers of its ‘investigative’ report and force them to draw the reporter’s desired conclusion! Another video showing an armed protester at the Lekki Toll Gate (see attached link 3) was apparently not among the footage reviewed by CNN!

It is shocking that all through its ‘investigation’, CNN did not for once mention the fact that six soldiers and 37 policemen were killed during the #EndSARS crisis, which also left 196 policemen injured, not to talk of the monumental destruction of government and private properties across the country. Instead, the network is fixated on the massacre that never happened. Are security agents not human beings too? Are they not entitled to the protection of their human rights?

For the record, this is not the first time that CNN has carried an inaccurate or hoax story about Nigeria. In February 2007, Nigeria accused CNN of staging one of its reports from the country’s Niger Delta region, showing gunmen holding 24 Filipinos hostage. Of course, CNN and its then Africa Correspondent Jeff Koinange flatly denied the charge, saying the network did not pay for any part of the report. Later, in an email reportedly sent to a friend, Mr. Koinange was quoted as saying: “Of course we had to pay certain people to get the story… You do not get such a story without bribing.” So much for denials!

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. 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.

Please accept the assurances of my warm regards.

The post Re: How a bloody night of bullets quashed a young protest movement appeared first on Frontpageng.

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.

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Brig.-Gen. Ahmed Taiwo, Commander of the 81 Division, Military Intelligence Brigade, Victoria Island, Lagos on Saturday told the Lagos Judicial Panel of Inquiry and Restitution for Victims of SARS Related Abuses and Other Matters that the Lagos had descended into a state of total chaos.

Taiwo was testifying before the panel on Saturday about Army’s alleged role in the shooting of unarmed #EndSARS protesters on October 20 at the Lekki Tollgate.

Taiwo who testified before the panel using a projector had shown graphic images of policemen being lynched, police stations being looted and burnt, as well as citizens resorting to cannibalism by eating the burnt flesh of the corpses of lynched police officers.

“Many of us have lived through the 70s to the 2000s, and one thing I have said is that once a peaceful protest goes beyond three days there are hoodlums waiting in the wings to hijack it and cause mayhem and this was not different.

“This state of affairs continued until October 20 and even I was caught up in one of such mobs. The hoodlums I met are not the #EndSARS protesters we have come to see.

“It is the task of the armed forces to intervene when the security task overwhelms the police and other paramilitary services.

“Mr Babajide Sanwo-Olu asked the army to intervene which was the correct thing to do,” he said.

Playing a video of the siege of the palace of the Oba of Lagos by hoodlums, Taiwo said that the monarch and his family had to be rescued by the Nigerian Army from chaos.

“Both the Oba and his family were ferried to safety by the Nigerian Army,” Taiwo said as he played a video recording of the monarch and his family being rescued and taken into a military pickup truck.

“The business district areas were looted and offices were ransacked and destroyed. The hoodlums attempted to invade the Government House, but it was repelled.

“They attempted to break into the Ikoyi Prison and it was repelled. The 81 Division had to support the Correctional Services and the Police.

“They also burnt down the Igbosere High Court. The inmates had burnt part of the Ikoyi Prison, they all did this at the same time because they had gotten information about what was happening on the outside.

“They burnt Shoprite and Spar Lekki was looted. What was shocking and saddening to me was that mothers were taking their children to loot,” he said.

The officer said that he had received a distress phone call from the Managing Director of Spar pleading for the military’s assistance.

“The MD was pleading and saying that let them loot the place, but they should not burn it down.

“When we arrived, these looters had the temerity to come up to soldiers while holding looted goods and say come collect sir!

“A man we arrested had looted household items and when we went to his house to recover the items he had already installed them,” he said.

Taiwo said that while trying to restore order at Spar Lekki, he had met looters looting Shoprite Lekki and that he had ordered soldiers under his command not to shoot at them, but into the air.

“I wanted to catch them and I did not want any casualty. All the looters our men arrested were taken to the 65 Battalion and we have people of almost every tribe there that day.

“There was a voice note on social media purportedly from Nnamdi Kanu, the leader of the proscribed Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) saying Igbos should cause mayhem in Lagos.

“This could not be further from the truth because from my assertion, most of the businesses affected were owned by Igbos,” Taiwo said.

The Nigerian Army told the panel that financial institutions were the most targeted by the looters during the #EndSARS unrest, and that the army had evacuated about N2 billion in two days for banks during the chaos.

He said the Chief of Army Staff (COAS) Lt. -Gen.Tukur Buratai, had ordered that the captured looters should be treated humanely by the military.

“They were fed three times a day and were given what the soldiers were eating. Some of them did not even want to leave,” he said.

Source: NAN

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The confirmation came after days of controversy over the involvement of the military.

The confirmation was made on Tuesday by the Acting Deputy Director, Public Relations of the 81 Division, Nigerian Army, Lagos, Major Osoba Olaniyi, in a statement.

While claiming that the military was invited by Lagos State government, he said the soldiers drafted for the operation did not shoot at protesters.

His statement reads: “The attention of Headquarters 81 Division Nigerian Army has been drawn to a viral video on social media in which it was alleged that civilian protesters were massacred by soldiers at Lekki Toll Plaza. This allegation is untrue, unfounded and aimed at causing anarchy in the country.

“At no time did soldiers of the Nigerian Army open fire on any civilian. From the onset of the ENDSARS protest, there was no time personnel of 81 Division Nigerian Army Lagos were involved.

“However, the decision to call in the military was taken by the Lagos State Government (LASG) after a 24- hour curfew was imposed.

“This was as a result of the violence which led to several police stations being burnt, policemen killed, suspects in police custody released and weapons carted away. The situation was fast degenerating into anarchy. It was at this point that LASG requested for the military to intervene in order to restore normalcy.

“The intervention of the military followed all laid down procedures for Internal Security operations and all the soldiers involved acted within the confines of the Rules of Engagement (ROE) for Internal Security operations.

“Finally, Headquarters 81 Division Nigerian Army reiterates Nigerian Army in the discharge of its constitutional responsibilities did not shoot at any civilian as there are glaring and convincing evidence to attest to this fact.

“This allegation is the hand work of mischief makers who will stop at nothing to tarnish the image of the Nigerian Army. The general public is hereby enjoined to discountenance this allegation as there is no iota of truth therein.”

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