Tobias Sylvester
The Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed has berated the Cable News Network (CNN) over what he described as an unbalanced report of the #EndSARS protest in the Lekki tollgate area of Lagos State.
KanyiDaily recalls that CNN had released two reports from an independent investigation carried out on the shooting incident involving the Nigerian Army and peaceful #EndSARS protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate.
The reports which contain series of videos shows Nigerian soldiers shooting directly at #EndSARS protesters despite series of denials by the Nigerian authorities.
Lai Mohammed, had last week described CNN’s report on the Lekki shootings as poor journalism, adding that the network deserved to be sanctioned for misinformation and irresponsible reporting.
The minister also followed up the threat with a letter addressed to the management of CNN, demanding an “immediate and exhaustive investigation” into its report on the Lekki shootings.
Speaking during a stakeholders meeting with members of Broadcasting Organisation of Nigeria (BON) on Friday, Mohammed alleged the letter has left CNN struggling to justify its inaccuracy.
He said that CNN invited trouble when it allegedly resorted to the use of unverified videos, and the non-adherence to the basic tenets of journalism.
“The station was also found to be inconsistent. After tweeting, without a shred of evidence, from its verified handle on October 23rd that soldiers killed 38 peaceful protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate on October 20th, the same station now said only one person was killed after a month of its investigation. What an embarrassment.
“On November 26th, in the clearest indication yet of its confusion over the Lekki Toll Gate incident, CNN tried to clarify its tweet of October 23rd by saying it never attributed the death toll of 38 to Amnesty International and that the tweet also did not make it clear that the death toll was for protests across the country.
“Commentators on the tweet tried to redirect CNN to the issue, which is its tweet of October 23rd in which it said ‘at least 38 people were killed in Nigeria on Tuesday, October 20th when the military opened fire on peaceful protesters.’ This is very unambiguous and CNN is exhibiting panic by seeking to clarify its tweet some 35 days later!
“Instead of engaging in such panic, CNN should come clean by admitting that it goofed badly on the Lekki Toll Gate incident.”
Mohammed told the BON members that the big lesson to draw from CNN’s faux pas was that it magnified the failure or inadequacy of our own broadcast organisations.
“In the wake of our spat with CNN, people are asking: Why didn’t our own broadcast stations take the lead in reporting the incident at Lekki? Why didn’t they take the lead in presenting an authentic narrative? Why must we allow foreign broadcast stations, some of which didn’t even have correspondents on ground, to dictate the pace, thus misleading the world?
“These are questions begging for answers and I think for BON, this must form part of their review of the coverage of the whole crisis,” he said.
Mohammed commended the security agencies for their professionalism and their restraint, which helped to save many lives, stressing that even in the face of attacks and provocation, the security agencies, in particular the police and soldiers, acted within their rules of engagement.
“The reporting of the #EndSARS protest has been skewed against the security agencies. While most reports have become fixated on the so-called massacre at the Lekki Toll Gate, only a few have highlighted the attacks and killings of security agents, as well as the destruction of public and private property. This is selective perception and it is condemnable.
“For the record, six soldiers and 37 policemen were killed all over the country during the crisis. Also, 196 policemen were injured; 164 police vehicles were destroyed and 134 police stations burnt down. The killing of the policemen was particularly gruesome and dastardly.
“Yet, human rights organisations and the media have not given this the attention it deserves. Rather, they have remained fixated on the so-called massacre. It seems human rights do not matter for men and women in uniform. This is unfortunate and must be corrected. Please note that the violence also left 57 civilians dead, 269 private/corporate facilities burnt/looted/vandalised, 243 government facilities burnt/vandalised and 81 government warehouses looted.”
This is coming just three days after Lai Mohammed accused CNN of spreading fake news in a despirate bid to expose the true events of what happened at the Lekki Toll Gate on October 20.
