The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has described the leaked report of the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Enquiry on the October 20, 2020 shooting of protesters at the Lekki tollgate as fake news.
Mohammed who spoke yesterday on the leaked report maintained that there was absolutely nothing in the report to make the Federal Government change its mind on its conviction that there was no massacre at the Lekki tollgate on the said October 20.
The panel had, in its report, noted that there were shootings at the scene of the protest, resulting in deaths and injuries, but the Minister held that the report was marred by errors and contradictions. He also urged families of alleged victims to come forth and speak as no worthy parent will keep mute over the death of a child.
He said: “Without mincing words, let me say that never in the history of any judicial panel in this country has its report been riddled with so many errors, inconsistencies, discrepancies, speculations, innuendoes, omissions and conclusions that are not supported by evidence.”
The Minister further stated that what has been circulating in public space is nothing other than a rehash of the unverified fake news that had been playing on social media since the incident of October 20, 2020.
He described as incredible, the fact that a judicial panel set up to investigate an incident should submit a report laden with the same allegations it was set up to investigate.
“Instead of sitting for all of one year, the panel could have just compiled social media ‘tales by the moonlight’ on the incident and submitted, saving taxpayers’ funds and everyone’s time. The report was nothing but the triumph of fake news and the intimidation of a silent majority by a vociferous lynch mob.
“The report threw away the testimony of ballistic experts who testified before it. The experts said in their testimony that from the medical data examined, including the timeline of arrival at medical facility and the nature of the injuries sustained by the victims, who were taken to the five medical facilities, no military grade live ammunition (high-velocity) was fired at the protesters within the timeframe of reference.
“The same panel that said it deemed as credible the evidence of the forensic pathologist that only three of the bodies on which postmortem were conducted were from Lekki and only one had gunshot injury went on to contradict itself by saying nine persons died of gunshot wounds at Lekki.
“Where are the family members of those who were reportedly killed at Lekki tollgate? If the panel is recommending compensation for the families, what are their identities and addresses? Who will receive the compensations when no family members have shown up till date?” the Minister asked.
“We also appeal to families of those allegedly killed in Lekki to speak out. It’s untenable to say that some families did not come out because they are afraid. Any parent who is afraid to testify about the death of his or her child is not worth to be called a parent. We reject the notion that our soldiers and policemen massacred innocent Nigerians at Lekki on October 20, 2020,” he concluded.
