A former Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, has restated that soldiers deployed to the Lekki Tollgate during the October 2020 EndSARS protests were issued blank bullets and that no massacre occurred at the site.
Speaking on Channels Television’s Sunrise Daily on Monday, Mohammed maintained that while casualties were recorded nationwide during the protests, the Lekki incident did not amount to a massacre.
“Our position on EndSARS was very clear. At no point did the Federal Government say there were no casualties. Thirty-seven policemen lost their lives, six soldiers lost their lives. But there was no massacre at the Lekki tollgate,” he said.
He criticised international media coverage, particularly CNN, accusing it of relying on “poorly sourced stories” to report the incident.
Mohammed described the Lekki episode as “the only massacre in the world where there are no bodies,” challenging anyone to provide evidence of relatives killed at the tollgate.
The former APC spokesman explained that blank bullets were used to disperse protesters, noting that while such ammunition could cause injuries, it was not lethal. He added that he studied the Lagos State panel report and publicly addressed it upon returning from France, insisting his position was based on information from top military officers with whom he was in constant communication at the time.
“I know for a fact that soldiers were issued blank bullets when they went to the Lekki tollgate. The actors are still alive today. There was a lot of fake news, but the truth remains that there was no massacre,” he said.
Mohammed also reflected on the Buhari administration, recalling the suspension of Twitter (now X) in 2021, which he said had become a platform for destabilisation.
The EndSARS protests were sparked by demands to disband the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) over allegations of human rights abuses. While activists claimed soldiers shot and killed demonstrators at Lekki, the Buhari government consistently denied the allegations. Five years later, commemorative rallies continue to mark the anniversary of the protests.
