We reject the notion that our soldiers and policemen massacred innocent Nigerians at Lekki on Oct. 20th 2020 – Lai Mohammed

The Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, has insisted that nobody died during the #EndSARS protest at the Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos State in October 2020.<br />Mr Mohammed said this on Tuesday while addressing a news conference in Abuja. He also described the report circulating online as fake.<br /><br />His comments come a week after the judicial panel probing allegations of police brutality in Lagos State submitted its findings to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu.<br /><br />One of the reports was on claims of police brutality while the other was on the shooting in the Lekki area of Lagos State on October 20, 2020, said to have killed and injured several protesters.<br /><br /> The minister emphatically, said: “We reject the notion that our soldiers and policemen massacred innocent Nigerians at the Lekki Tollgate”.<br /><br />He also demanded relatives of the victims to come forward with evidence, saying that “any parent who is afraid to testify about the death of his or her child is not worthy to be called a parent".<br /><br />Below is the full text of his speech.<br /><br />TEXT OF THE PRESS CONFERENCE ADDRESSED BY THE HON. MINISTER OF<br />INFORMATION AND CULTURE, ALHAJI LAI MOHAMMED, IN ABUJA ON TUESDAY NOV. 23RD 2021 ON THE REPORT OF THE LAGOS STATE JUDICIAL PANEL OF INQUIRY AND RESTITUTION TO INVESTIGATE CASES OF POLICE BRUTALITY AND THE INCIDENT OF OCT. 20TH 2020 AT LEKKI TOLL GATE<br />Good morning gentlemen,<br /><br />2. It’s no longer news that the Lagos State Judicial Panel of Inquiry that investigated cases of police brutality as well as the incident of Oct. 20th, 2020, at Lekki Toll Gate in Lagos has submitted its report. The submission happened whileI was out of the country on national assignment. Unlike many commentators and analysts, we took our time to read and digest the report, and we are now well placed to respond.<br /><br />3. 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, i