A former Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed, has insisted that no massacre occurred at the Lekki tollgate during the October 2020 EndSARS protests.
Mohammed, who was the late President Muhammadu Buhari’s minister, spoke on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Monday, where he maintained that soldiers deployed to the tollgate were issued blank bullets.
“Our position on EndSARS was very clear. At no point did the Federal Government say there were no casualties during EndSARS; there were casualties. We reported them; we admitted them. Thirty-seven policemen lost their lives. Six soldiers lost their lives during EndSARS,” he said.
According to him, while deaths were recorded in several parts of the country during the protests, there was no massacre at the Lekki tollgate.
“Nobody speaks about this, but we admitted it. We gave the numbers that lost their lives in Kano, in Abuja, everywhere. But what we said, and what we still insist on, is that there was no massacre at the Lekki tollgate,” Mohammed stated.
He also criticised international media coverage of the incident, particularly CNN.
“And I think this is where I disagreed with CNN. CNN was not at the Lekki tollgate. CNN relied on poorly sourced stories to write its report,” he added.
Mohammed said he still stands by his position, describing the Lekki tollgate incident as “the only massacre in the whole world where there are no bodies.”
“This is the only massacre in the whole world where there are no bodies. People died in Alimosho, people died everywhere, but there was no massacre at the tollgate. And I challenge anybody to come and tell me today that ‘my son or my daughter was at the tollgate and didn’t come back home,’” he said.
The former APC spokesman disclosed that soldiers deployed to the tollgate were issued blank bullets.
Mohammed noted that while such ammunition could cause injuries, it did not amount to a massacre.
“Soldiers were issued blank bullets when they went to the Lekki tollgate. The whole idea is to disable you. Of course, yes, it could probably—I’m not a ballistic forensic expert—but I’m saying that, to the best of my knowledge, as of today, there was no massacre at the Lekki tollgate,” he stated.
He said he studied the Lagos State report on the incident and later addressed the matter publicly.
“Of course. Not only did I read it, I also studied it. And I came back immediately from France and held a world press conference in which I dissected it and said, ‘No. This is what really transpired,’” he declared.
Mohammed said he maintained constant communication with top military officers at the time.
“I know for a fact because I was continually in touch with the Chief of Army Staff and the Chief of Defence Staff throughout those operations, and we had meetings with them,” he said.
“There was a lot of fake news and misinformation, but the truth of the matter—and I stand by it to this day—is that there was no massacre at the Lekki tollgate. It’s five years on,” he added.