<\/p>\n
The Federal Government has reiterated its position that there was no massacre at the Lekki Toll Gate on Oct. 20, 2020. It equally challenged families of those allegedly killed during the incident to speak out.<\/p>\n
Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, at a media briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, disclosed the Government\u2019s position on the report of the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Enquiry and Restitution which investigated cases of police brutality and the toll gate incident.<\/p>\n
He said the report was fake and unreliable and targeted at embarrassing the FG and its agencies<\/p>\n
\u201cThe report in circulation is calculated to embarrass the Federal Government and its agencies without fool proof evidence. The Federal Government has never condoned the abuse of the rights of Nigerians by security agencies under any guise, as a result, it disbanded SARS and encouraged states to set up the panels to investigate reports of rights abuses allegedly committed by the disbanded SARS personnel,\u2019\u2019 he said<\/p>\n
Lai Mohammed noted that the 37 policemen and six soldiers who died across the country during the #EndSARS protests were also Nigerians and should not be forgotten.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe are saddened that anyone died at all during the #EndSARS protest as the life of every Nigerian and indeed every human is sacrosanct. As we have disclosed many times, 57 civilians, 37 policemen and six soldiers were killed across the country during the protests, and we commiserate with their families\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cFor us to change our stand, a well-investigated report of the incident that meets all required standards and can withstand every scrutiny must be produced and presented to the public,\u2019\u2019 the minister said.<\/p>\n
Alhaji Mohammed insisted that there was no massacre at the Lekki Toll Gate, contrary to the report which claimed that nine people were killed. He stressed that there was nothing in the report to make the Government change its stand.<\/p>\n
The minister noted that the report\u00a0was silent on the family members of those reportedly\u00a0killed; merely insinuating they were afraid to testify.<\/p>\n
\u201cEven goats have owners who will look for them if they do not\u00a0return home, not to talk of human beings. Where are the family members\u00a0of those who were reportedly killed at Lekki Toll Gate?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cIf the panel\u00a0is recommending compensation for the families, what are their\u00a0identities and addresses? Who will receive the compensations when no\u00a0family members have shown up to date? We also appeal to the families of those allegedly killed in Lekki to speak out. It is untenable to say that some families did not come out because they are afraid\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cAny parent who is afraid to testify about the death of his or her child is not worth to be called a parent,\u2019\u2019 the minister stressed.<\/p>\n
Lai Mohammed further queried the report and asked how a\u00a0man who reportedly saw the lifeless body of his\u00a0brother ended\u00a0up being on the list of the panel\u2019s deceased\u00a0persons.<\/p>\n
\u201cHow can a judicial panel convince anyone that the names of some\u00a0`casualties\u2019 of the Lekki Toll Gate incident listed as numbers 3 (Jide),\u00a042 (Tola) and 43 (Wisdom) are not fictitious names? Why did the judicial panel feel compelled to concoct a \u2018massacre-in-context\u2019 as euphemism for \u2018massacre\u2019? A massacre is a\u00a0massacre. What is \u2018massacre-in-context\u2019\u2019? He queried.<\/p>\n
The minister noted that the report by the panel also\u00a0threw away the testimony of ballistic experts that testified before it.<\/p>\n
The experts, according to the minister, told the panel that\u00a0that no military grade live ammunition (high-velocity) was fired at the protesters at Lekki Tollgate on Oct. 20, 2020 within the timeframe of reference.<\/p>\n
Lai Mohammed reiterated that the Federal Government\u00a0rejected the notion that soldiers and policemen massacred innocent Nigerians at Lekki on Oct. 20, 2020.<\/p>\n
\u201cThat conclusion is not supported by the weight of available evidence. Indictment for murder is a very serious issue that cannot be done on the basis of allegations and corroborations, as the panel did. Such allegations must be proved beyond reasonable doubt,\u2019\u2019 the minister said.<\/p>\n
Alhaji Mohammed said those who had\u00a0prematurely celebrated\u00a0the report in circulation should go back and read it thoroughly and after tell Nigerians whether it could pass any serious scrutiny<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The Federal Government has reiterated its position that there was no massacre at the Lekki Toll Gate on Oct. 20, 2020. It equally challenged families of those allegedly killed during the incident to speak out. Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, at a media briefing in Abuja on Tuesday, disclosed the Government\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":32,"featured_media":394,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jnews-multi-image_gallery":[],"jnews_single_post":[],"jnews_primary_category":[],"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-391","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national"],"yoast_head":"\n