POLITICS NIGERIA

A foreign news outlet, Cable News Network, CNN, says it stands behind its report on the alleged shooting of #EndSARS protesters by soldiers at the Lekki toll plaza on October 20, 2020.

The news platform made this known on Thursday while reacting to comments made by the Minister of Information and Culture, Lai Mohammed, that the cable network was irresponsible for relying on videos sourced from social media to produce its report.

According to the news outlet in another story titled, ‘Nigeria threatens CNN with sanctions but provides no evidence Lekki toll gate investigation is inaccurate’, the report on the Lekki shooting was carefully and meticulously researched before it was published and aired.

The news medium noted that the report was based on testimony from dozens of witnesses, and photos and video obtained and geolocated by CNN. The report said CNN verified photos and videos acquired from multiple eyewitnesses and protesters using timestamps and other data from the video files.

CNN also condemned the comment by the minister that it should be sanctioned for publishing the report, noting that the federal government failed to address the shooting effectively.

The report read in parts: “CNN verified photos and videos acquired from multiple eyewitnesses and protesters using timestamps and other data from the video files.

“Video footage shows soldiers who appear to be shooting in the direction of protesters. And accounts from eyewitnesses established that after the army withdrew, a second round of shooting happened later in the evening.

“Prior to publishing the report, CNN tried multiple times to elicit comment from the Nigerian army and police. A Lagos State police spokesman declined to comment because of an ongoing investigation.

“While a statement from the Lagos State government said that there would be no comment while a judicial tribunal was underway.”