EndSARS: Lai Mohammed Says Lekki Toll Gate Massacre Is Fake News
- Former Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has restated that no deaths occurred at the Lekki toll gate during the 2020 EndSARS protest
- Speaking on Arise Television’s Prime Time, he described reports of a massacre at the toll gate as “fake news”
- Mohammed argued that five years on, no family had reported missing relatives linked to the toll gate incident
Former Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has insisted that nobody died at the Lekki toll gate in Lagos during the 2020 EndSARS protest.
Mohammed made the statement on Wednesday during an interview on *Prime Time*, a programme aired on Arise Television. He maintained that five years after the protest, no family had come forward to say their children or wards went to the toll gate and never returned.
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EndSARS protest and Lekki toll gate claims
The former minister said that while people lost their lives in other parts of the country during the EndSARS demonstrations, the claim of a massacre at the Lekki toll gate was “fake news.”
“People died in many places during EndSARS, but saying there was a massacre at the toll gate is fake news,” Mohammed stated.
He added that his position had not changed since 2020, stressing that reports of deaths at the toll gate were based on unreliable sources.
CNN coverage criticised
Mohammed criticised international media coverage of the protest, particularly CNN, which he said was not present at the toll gate. According to him, the network relied on “second hand and third hand information” to report the incident.
“I still stand by my pushback. Nobody died during the EndSARS. No! People died in Abuja and in Kano. CNN was not at the toll gate. CNN relied on second hand and third hand information,” he said.
Lai’s logic on the incident
Explaining his reasoning, Mohammed used an analogy to argue that no one had reported missing relatives from the toll gate.
“My argument and logic was very simple. 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 toll gate and didn’t come back. The narrative that there was a massacre at the toll gate is fake news,” he said.
See the video below:
Lai Mohammed to unveil book on Buhari’s legacy
Legit.ng earlier reported that plans are underway to honour the late former President Muhammadu Buhari with the public unveiling of a new book written by Alhaji Lai Mohammed, who served as Minister of Information and Culture throughout Buhari’s eight years in office.
The presentation will coincide with what would have been Buhari’s 83rd birthday on December 17, 2025. He died on July 13 this year. Titled “Headlines & Soundbites: Media Moments that Defined an Administration”, the book captures key moments in governance, national communication and policy direction during Buhari’s presidency, Daily Trust reported.
Source: Legit.ng
