All of Lai Mohammed’s Lies About the EndSARS Killing In Lekki

Nigeria’s Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed has repeatedly lied about the killing that happened at the Lekki tollgate during the EndSARS protests.

Here, a collection of the lies he’s told as the nation mourned innocent youths massacred by the Nigerian army on Tuesday night, October 20, 2020. This post will be updated as needed.

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed.

On Dj Switch Lekki Toll Gate Video

When: October 2020

The claim:  Mohammed called the event of October 20, 2020, false, asserted that opposed to DJ Switch’s claims, not a single body has been presented or a single-family has come out to claim their family member was killed at the Lekki tollgate.

“One of the purveyors of fake news was one DJ Switch whose real name is Obianuju Catherine Udeh, even though she claimed authentic evidence of mass killings. Surprisingly, instead of presenting whatever evidence she may have, she chose to escape from the country on the claim that her life was in danger. In danger for who?” he said.

The truth: When Lai made this statement, the Lagos State Government has already set up a judicial panel in the wake of the #EndSARS protest. Nigerians home and abroad were immediately upset by Mohammed’s comment. But one year after the killing and October 2021 have passed, the Lagos Judicial EndSARS panel reveals that 11 were killed, four were missing and 20 were injured at the Lekki toll gate.

When: November 2020
The claim: After the Cable News Network (CNN) investigated and revealed that the Nigerian Army truly fired live bullets at protesters at the Lekki toll gate Lai Mohammed, in a press conference in Abuja described the news as “irresponsible journalism”.

He said, “It shows that they are desperate. The so-called recent development has been seen before. There is nothing new. If there is anything new, it is a contradiction of CNN’s position.

“What we are asking CNN is that where is your evidence? The military has been consistent. CNN contravenes the basic principles of journalism – fairness, and balance.”

The truth: The CNN report was mentioned 37 times in the judicial panel’s report by the Lagos Judicial EndSARS panel.

When: January 2021

The claim: human rights organization, Amnesty International, lambast the Nigerian government 100 days after the Lekki tollgate shooting that Buhari led administration had yet to secure justice for the victims. Reacting to Amnesty International, Lai Mohammed demanded that the organization show proof of the people reportedly killed during the shooting at the Lekki toll gate or “shut up”.

The truth: One of the protesters who was shot and taken for dead, Olalekan Sanusi, who eventually escaped to narrate his ordeal and experience stated that 11 corpses were in the van, where he was placed and presumed dead.

When: February 2021

The claim: Speaking on TVC ‘This Morning’ show, Lai Mohammed said, “As we speak today, nobody has come forward to produce evidence of those that were killed at Lekki Toll Gate”

The truth: Miss Dabira Ayuku also confirmed that she saw about 7 dead bodies placed in one of the military trucks at the Lekki Toll Gate on the night of 20th October 2020.