By Muhammad Mamman
Former Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has once again rejected allegations that a “massacre” occurred at the Lekki Toll Gate during the 2020 EndSARS protests, describing the narrative as a product of fake news and unverified reports circulated on social media.
In a statement released on Thursday, Mohammed insisted that the accounts of mass killings at the toll gate were not corroborated by official investigations or credible evidence. He argued that the narrative had been amplified by social media platforms, contributing to widespread misinformation both locally and internationally.
“The so-called massacre at Lekki Toll Gate is a distortion of facts. Numerous reports and investigations have shown no evidence of such an incident. Unfortunately, misinformation spreads faster than truth on social media,” Mohammed said.
The former minister also urged Nigerians and the international community to rely on verified information from official sources, stressing that unverified narratives could fuel unrest and misrepresent the country’s realities.
Mohammed’s remarks come as the Lekki Toll Gate shooting continues to remain a sensitive and divisive topic in Nigeria, with various groups offering conflicting accounts of the events that transpired during the protests against police brutality.
While human rights organisations have maintained calls for further investigations into the incident, Mohammed reiterated the government’s stance that no massacre took place, emphasising the importance of separating fact from fiction in national discourse.
