Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, says the alleged massacre at the Lekki toll gate was the first massacre he has seen without massacre.
He stated this while addressing the media in Abuja on Thursday, stressing that anyone with evidence should approach the Judicial Panel of Inquiry.
Describing it as a “social media massacre” he noted that the Nigerian Army did not use live ammunition.
“While we await the Judicial Panel in Lagos to unravel what transpired at the Lekki Toll Gate, what we can say, based on testimonies available in the public space, is that the world may have just witnessed, for the very first time ever, a Massacre without bodies!
“Some have tagged it ‘social media massacre’. The testimony of Brig.-Gen, Ahmed Ibrahim Taiwo of the Nigerian Army before the Panel was compelling, and I am sure many of you have listened to or watched it.
“The highlights, for those who may not have watched the testimony, are that soldiers were deployed all over Lagos, including Lekki Toll Gate, after the other security agencies were overwhelmed on Oct. 20th 2020, upon the request of the state government.
He said before deployment, the soldiers were briefed on the rules of engagement, which they adhered to all through.
“Soldiers at Lekki Toll Gate fired blank ammunitions into the air and blank ammunition cannot do any damage to the flesh, not to talk of killing anyone.
“Firing live ammunition into the crowd, as some have alleged, would have led to mass killing, which never happened.
He added that sadly, the purveyors of fake news and disinformation succeeded in deceiving the world that indeed there was mass killing in Lekki, even when, till date, not a single body has been produced and not a single family or relative has come out to say their child or ward was killed at Lekki.
“More surprising and irresponsible is the fact that some people have been calling for sanctions against Nigeria or against Nigerian government officials on the basis of a hoax.
“This is one of the dangers of fake news and disinformation. Once fake news is out, many run with it, without looking back, even when the truth is eventually revealed.
“We therefore want to use this opportunity to ask those who have alleged massacre at the Lekki Toll Gate to go to the Judicial Panel to present their evidence(s) to the world or simply admit that they have goofed.”
