Former Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has again rejected claims that a “massacre” occurred at the Lekki Toll Gate during the 2020 EndSARS protests, insisting the narrative was driven by misinformation and unverified social media reports.
Speaking on Wednesday during an interview on ARISE News while discussing his new book, Headlines and Soundbites: Media Moments That Defined an Administration, Mohammed said combating misinformation was one of the biggest challenges of his time in office.
“EndSARS was unfortunate, it was tragic, but that there was a massacre at the tollgate is fake news,” he stated.
He argued that no family has, in five years, reported a missing relative directly linked to the incident. “If a man has a goat and the goat does not come home one night, he will go out and look for that goat. Now, five years on today, nobody has come to tell us that my son or my ward went to the tollgate and didn’t come back,” he added.
Mohammed also criticised CNN’s coverage of the event, alleging the outlet relied on “second-hand information” and reaffirming his earlier objections to its reporting.
“Nobody ever said nobody died during the EndSARS. People died even in Abuja. They died in Lagos. They died in Kano. But what we were saying is that CNN was not at the tollgate. CNN relied on second-hand thought and information,” he said.
He further noted that the Buhari administration viewed unregulated social media as a growing national threat, often amplifying misinformation and distorting facts.
“One of the jobs of a communicator, one of the biggest challenges, is how do you prevent fake news and misinformation from overshadowing the real facts?” he asked.
Mohammed defended the 2021 suspension of Twitter, describing it as a difficult but necessary action to curb harmful content.
The Lekki Toll Gate incident, which occurred on October 20, 2020, during the nationwide EndSARS protests against police brutality, remains one of Nigeria’s most contentious events. Protesters had gathered peacefully at the toll plaza when security forces reportedly opened fire, sparking widespread outrage and global scrutiny. Though official and independent accounts differ on the number of casualties, the event continues to fuel debate over government conduct, human rights, and accountability.
